Plastics Engineering E-Magazine March 2019 Issue by erkan indibay

ANTEC 2019 ®

Editorial & Publishing Staff

Detroit, MI • March 18-21, 2019 CO-HOSTED BY SPE DETROIT

Sheri Kasprzak Editor-in-Chief (201) 748-8713 skasprzak@wiley.com

Valaree DonFrancesco Designer (203) 740-5425 vdonfrancesco@4spe.org

Ryan Foster Art Director (203) 740-5410 rfoster@4spe.org

Contributing Editors

Roland Espinosa Senior Account Manager Print & E-Media Advertising (201) 748-6891 respinosa@wiley.com Lisa Dionne Lento Publisher ldionnelen@wiley.com Sue Wojnicki Director of Communications (203) 740-5420 swojnicki@4spe.org

Robert Grace bob@rcgrace.com Geoff Giordano geoffgio@verizon.net

THE CONFERENCE FOR PLASTICS PROFESSIONALS

Thanks for all that attended

ANTEC® 2019!

Patrick Toensmeier toensmeier@sbcglobal.net Dr. Roger Corneliussen Patents cornelrd@bee.net Matt Bechtel Industry News bechtel.matt@gmail.com

SPE 2018-2019 Executive Board President Brian Grady CEO Patrick Farrey President-Elect Brian Landes Vice President – Business & Finance Jeremy Dworshak Vice President – Divisions Jason Lyons

Vice President – Marketing & Communications Conor Carlin Vice President – Sections Scott Eastman

SAVE THE DATE

Vice President – Young Professionals Lynzie Nebel Vice President – Technology & Education Raymond Pearson

Vice President – Events Jaime Gómez

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

CONTENTS VOLUME 75

NUMBER 3

MARCH 2019

SPME

Focus on: Vicki Flaris-Rapp Professor, Mentor, Loving Wife & Mother, SPE Past President

In Memoriam

SPE Remembers We pay tribute to some SPE past presidents.

8 SPE’s Automotive Division contributed $10,000 to student scholarships.

Conference Report

Detroit’s MAIN Event Highlights Design Innovation By Peggy Malnati The Kickoff for 2019 Detroit Auto Show Fetes Student, Vehicle, Designer Innovation.

Conference Report

MDM West Highlights Innovations in Medical Polymers By Geoff Giordano The Medical Design and Manufacturing West conference in Anaheim highlighted advances in polymers and processes used in the medical field.

12 Nylon exposed to heat and oxygen can turn yellow and lose some of its properties. Novatec’s NitroDry nitrogen drying system helps eliminate this effect.

Design Notes

Out of the Shadows, Light Becoming a Key Design Aspect By Robert Grace The integration of LEDs and electronics with materials offers endless opportunities for individualization and product differentiation.

18 Magneti Marelli display car demonstrates both the use of the front panel of an electric vehicle as a “billboard” or changeable display, along with the firm’s Smart Corner platform.

Cover Story

Good Things Come in Micro Packages By Geoff Giordano Micro-electronics are a booming business, but plastics producers must pack complex components into tiny spaces, leading to some challenges. About the cover: Microelectronics are getting smaller as devices shrink. Researchers are seeking ways to reduce size while maintaining performance. Courtesy of Purdue University

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CONTENTS VOLUME 75

NUMBER 3

MARCH 2019

Microelectronics

30 30 A new organic plastic allows electronics to function in extreme temperatures without sacrificing performance.

Polymers Help Boost Performance of Next-Generation Electronics By Nancy D. Lamontagne Polymer technology is enabling smaller and cheaper electronics with increased performance.

As I See It

Additive Impact By Pat Toensmeier Andrew Edman, industry manager for engineering products, design, and manufacturing at Formlabs, a developer of stereolithography and selective laser sintering systems, looks at where 3D printing is and where it is going.

Engineered Bioplastics

36 34 3D printing or additive manufacturing is a low-cost design and development tool. Though unsuitable for high-volume production, users capitalize on its strengths to shorten design cycles and economically produce low-run parts.

Plastics That Do Not Last Forever: Engineered Bioplastics By Jim Romeo As consumers and companies respond to the call to reduce the incidence of plastics waste in products and packaging, companies and researchers are developing new materials and products to help achieve sustainability goals.

Departments

42 36 Coca-Cola says PlantBottle packaging is the latest breakthrough designed to change the way the world thinks of plastic bottles. It is the first ever fully recyclable PET plastic beverage bottle made partially from plants.

Events

Patents

Market Place

Our regular roundup of notable patents. By Dr. Roger Corneliussen

Editorial Index

Energy Tip

Advertiser Index

Industry News In this issueâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s roundup of industry news, we explore developments from Trinseo, Anomatic, MFG, One Rock Capital, and more.

Hydraulics: Getting the Right Fluid By Robin Kent

SPE and Partnered Conferences, SPE Meetings, Non-SPE Events and Webinars

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

PROFESSOR, MENTOR, LOVING WIFEMENTOR, & MOTHER, PROFESSOR, SPE PASTWIFE PRESIDENT... LOVING & MOTHER, SPE PAST PRESIDENT...

sspp ee VICKI FLARIS-RAPP SPE Past President VICKI FLARIS-RAPP 2007-2008 SPE Past President 2007-2008

IN MEMORY... “Vicki lived her life with exceptional grace, integrity and strength, both personally and professionally. Vicki was IN vastlyMEMORY... accomplished, affecting and respected as a world-renowned scientist and literary scholar, professor,

mentor, colleague, friend, family member, and daughter. It was her role as a wife and mother that gave Vicki the thrill, tenacity and drive to live life fully, to love unconditionally, and to thrive in the midst of challenge.” “Vicki lived her life with exceptional grace, integrity and strength, both personally and professionally. Vicki was vastly accomplished, affecting and respected as a world-renowned scientist and literary scholar, professor, mentor, colleague, friend, family member, and daughter. It was her role as a wife and mother that gave Vicki the thrill, tenacity and drive to live life fully, to love unconditionally, and to thrive in the midst of challenge.”

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Past President Dick Johnson

Richard G. Johnson peacefully passed on February 6, 2019. Dick was born December 22, 1935 in Chicago. He passed away peacefully February 6, 2019 in Lake Zurich. Dick is survived by his wife of 50 years, Marilyn; daughters, Jessica Johnson of Seattle, WA, and Lesley (Richard) Sabel; and grandson Mason. Dick was owner and president of Johnson Plastic Equipment and a distinguished member of the Society of Plastic Engineers, which is the largest technical society in the world. He served as president of the Chicago chapter of the society from 1974-1975 and national president of the Society of Plastic Engineers from 1985-1986. Dick was an avid golfer and was a member of Medinah Country Club for over 30 years.

Dr. Thoi Ho

Thoi Ho was fatally injured in a highway accident Saturday evening in Montgomery County, Texas. Dr. Ho was the current Councilor for SPE - Polymer Materials and Additives Division. He was a strong supporter of the Division’s scholarship contest, called PMAD Challenge, and a key contributor to the annual SPE Polyolefins Conference.

John R. Kretzschmar

John R. Kretzschmar peacefully passed from life to Life on October 17, 2018 after a short illness. John was the Chair Emeritus of the Plastics Academy and sat on the Board of the National Plastics Center and Museum. He was a Past President of SPE (1987), a year where the theme of his leadership was “imagination.” John was born on June 11, 1933 in St. Joseph, MO. His wife of 61 years, Suzanne, preceded him in death on December 30, 2017. He is survived by their two children, Brian R. Kretzschmar (Bowling Green, OH) and Leigh A. Kretzschmar (San Diego, CA); five brothers, Jerry (Naples, FL), Mark (Columbia, MO), David (Springfield, MO), Richard (Virginia Beach, VA) and Victor (Adrian, MO); as well as his grandchildren.

Michael R. Cappelletti

Mr. Michael R. Cappelletti, age 75, passed away peacefully surrounded by his family after an incredibly courageous battle with Leukemia, on Saturday, September 29, 2018 in the VITAS Unit of St. Mary’s Hospital. He was the loving husband of the late Juliana F. (Sakocius) Cappelletti. Mr. Cappelletti was born on November 7, 1942, in Waterbury, son of the late Rafael and Rose (Pugliese) Cappelletti. He was a graduate of Croft High School, Class of 61. He earned his Associates Degree from the Hartford Institute of Accounting and while working full time and raising his family, he earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Accounting from the University of Bridgeport. Mike was the CEO and Executive Director of Society of Plastics Engineers, retiring after over 20 years of service. He was a longtime parishioner of Church of the Epiphany in Cheshire and longtime member of the Wolcott Land Owners Association and the Bristol Fish and Game Club. Mike enjoyed hunting and shooting trap and skeet with his friends.

He owned a 1957 Thunderbird, which he restored with pride. He was a former member of the Connecticut Chapter of the Classic Thunderbird Club and the Roaring 20s Car Club. His T-Bird was the winner of the AACA Senior Trophy at the prestigious AACA Car Show in Hershey Pennsylvania. Most importantly, Mike was completely devoted to his family. He was a compassionate caretaker of his wife Juliana, the love of his life since he was 14 years old. He spoke to his family every day and the time spent with them and his grandchildren were his true joy. Everyone loved Mr. C. Mike’s sense of humor stood out above all else. Fun was something Mike was a good at and he was always the life of the party. Mike is survived by his son, Mark Cappelletti and his girlfriend Pamela Miranda of Waterbury, his daughter Michele Correia and her husband Manny of Tucson, AZ, his grandchildren, Stefanie Correia of Oakland, CA and Matthew Correia of Tucson, AZ. He also leaves behind his sister Rosanne McGrath, his niece Sue Allen and her husband Dan and nephew Francis McGrath, all of Midlothian, VA. Mike was predeceased by his sister Karme Neeson.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

MAIN EVENT REPORT

Detroitâ&#x20AC;&#x2122;s MAIN Event Highlights Design Innovation Kickoff for 2019 Detroit Auto Show Fetes Student, Vehicle, Designer Innovation By Peggy Malnati

nnovation and sustainability drove the festivities at the Motorcity Auto Industry Night (MAIN) Event this January. The event, which immediately precedes the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS), celebrated eco-friendly designs and executive achievement while also showcasing the wares of automakers and suppliers.

The 2019 MAIN Event drew approximately 600 attendees to the Fisher Theater in Detroit Jan. 12 to celebrate the automotive design community. Awards were presented to professional designers and automotive executives as well as students. Photo by Peggy Malnati

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SPE’s Automotive Division contributed $10,000 to student scholarships. Photo by Peggy Malnati

The gala was held at the Fisher Theater in downtown Detroit Jan. 12 and drew an estimated crowd of 600 creative professionals, students, and community members. “This year’s theme was sustainability and electrification because they have become dominant concerns in society as well as in the automotive industry,” said local Fox 2 TV news anchor, Huel Perkins, the event’s long-time emcee. The MAIN Event was founded and is chaired by Keith Nagara, director of the transportation design and industrial design programs of Lawrence Technological University (LTU) of Southfield, Mich. An LTU graduate himself, Nagara spent a decade working as a designer at Ford Motor Co. of Dearborn, Mich., before returning to his alma mater to teach and head up the transportation and design industry program there. He says he was inspired to create the first MAIN Event after visiting auto shows in Paris and Las Vegas and being asked several times by organizers in each city why Detroit didn’t have its own program to celebrate the area design community.

local design community, the next generation of design talent, and all the innovative companies here that support the automotive industry,” explains Nagara. “I started with an idea and I shared it with different companies and people. The biggest challenge was finding a place where it could be hosted.” Eventually, through a colleague who worked at Detroit-based Compuware Corp., Nagara had the opportunity to pitch his idea to Compuware execs. He recalls staying up late one night to pull together his pitch document and create a name and logo for the yetto-be-held event. “After my presentation, they came back to me with more questions and eventually said my proposal was approved under one condition—that I made sure to include some young faces in the crowd,” he recalls. Nagara promised to bring his own design students and then set about the difficult task of finding organizations to contribute money so the awards ceremony could go forward. The first MAIN Event in 2011 attracted 250 attendees and was such a success that it was covered in the New York Times. Nagara admits that he never planned for there to be a year two, let alone years three through nine.

“I came back [from those shows] wanting to highlight our

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MAIN EVENT REPORT

“However, six months after our first event, I started getting calls from companies asking when the next MAIN Event was scheduled and telling me they wanted to be a sponsor,” Nagara laughs. “I felt like someone needed to do this event or one just like it.” That’s how he became a reluctant nonprofit fundraiser. The event has continued to grow, reaching over 1,000 attendees at its height. One challenging aspect is that it’s difficult to predict turnout as there are no ticket sales. Like the events Nagara attended in Paris, attendance is by invitation from committee members, judges, and sponsors who invite executives and other members of the Detroit automotive and design community. He feels this approach keeps the committee focused on the message rather than trying to make money. At the 2019 MAIN Event, a number of awards were given. SPE’s Automotive Division challenged students to explore innovative uses of plastics as a design enabler and contributed funds totaling $10,000 to scholarships at LTU. Three students—Zachery Carter, Donald Axhami, and Dalia Elmokadem—received first-, second-, and thirdplace prizes and scholarships for $3,000, $2,000, and $1,500 respectively for their work. Presenter and board member Steve VanLoozen, corporate account manager at Celanese of Auburn Hills, Mich., described the challenge judges had selecting this year’s winners.

Axhami also walked away with a $2,500 first-place scholarship from Magna Exteriors of Troy, Mich. which funded $5,500 total in scholarships. The other two scholarships went to Carter, who took home $1,500, and Jordan Cantelon, who also won a $1,500 prize. “[We] support the MAIN Event because we’re driven by innovation, we’re inspired by the students’ imaginations, which are fueled by new technologies and unlimited possibilities, and we strive to understand how society and technology are changing and are interacting with cars–– especially vehicle exteriors,” explained Larry Erickson, global director-industrial design at Magna Exteriors who presented his company’s awards at the gala. “All three winners gave us a window into changing values, changing technology, and what we need to be ready for as we collaborate with our customers.” WardsAuto.com and Inteva Products also funded $2,500 in student scholarships. Professional designers and automotive executives also were recognized at the MAIN Event. The Design Concept and Animation Excellence award went to the design team from the Holden Special Vehicles division of General Motors Co. of Port Melbourne, Victoria, Australia, for its Time Attack concept vehicle. Also recognized was

“It was so hard as all the designs were innovative, but we finally found three that we could say were just a bit more innovative than all the others,” he explained. “However, our team felt that all the students’ designs had merit and deserved recognition, which is why we decided to give each of the other seven students who participated a $500 scholarship as a nod to their creativity and imagination.” Dassault Systèmes SE of VélizyVillacoublay, France, awarded its Next Generation of Design Innovation trophy to Andres Bastidas. The three finalists for the trophy included Jacob Watts, Carter, and Axhami for designs demonstrating exemplary utilization of the company’s 3DS experience and execution of designs using 3DS Solutions. Phil Borchard, Dassault’s vice president of sales-America, presented the prizes.

Professional designers were honored at the MAIN Event. The Australian team from Holden Special Vehicles received the Design Concept and Animation Excellence for their work on the innovative Time Attack concept vehicle. Photo by Peggy Malnati

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the DS Automobiles marquee of Groupe PSA of Paris for that team’s X E-Tense concept car and the Vision EQ Silver Arrow concept from the Mercedes-Benz division of Daimler AG of Stuttgart, Germany. Next came the Global Industry Executive of the Year award, which went to Akira Marumoto, president and chief executive officer of Mazda Motor Corp. of Hiroshima, Japan. Although Marumoto was unable to attend due to a scheduling conflict, Tom McDonald, Mazda’s communications manager, accepted the award on his behalf and described cars as “art that moves.” The last award of the evening was for Industry Innovator of the Year, and it went to Franz von Holzhausen, chief designer at Tesla, Inc. of Palo Alto, Calif. Holzhausen, who also has worked for Volkswagen Group, General Motors, and Mazda North America, has helmed design for Tesla’s Models S, X, and 3 as well as its iconic Roadster. Von Holzhausen was unable to attend in person, and his trophy was picked up by Paul Silver, MAIN Event executive board member. After a short break for hors d’oeuvres, guests were treated to the Detroit Fashion Week showcase and plenty of networking. The primary sponsors of the MAIN Event were Magna Exteriors; Dassault Systèmes; the Automotive Division of the Society of Plastics Engineers of Troy; and Lawrence Technological University of Southfield, Mich. Additional event sponsors included: Inteva Products of Troy; Roush Enterprises of Livonia, Mich.; the Ultrasuede division of Toray Industries, Inc. of Tokyo; Hewlett-Packard Co. of

Palo Alto, Calif.; Aristo Cast Corp. of Almont, Mich.; and ANSYS, Inc. of Canonsburg, Pa. Additional supporting sponsors included: Mackevision Corp. of Troy; Toray, Detroit Fashion Week of Detroit; Shiloh Industries, Inc. of Valley City, Ohio; Kaleidoscope Animations, Inc. of Cincinnati; IGI of Commerce, Mich.; AutoDesk, Inc. of San Rafael, Calif.; ABC Group Inc. of Toronto; and Cinimod Studio of London. The Detroit Auto Shows moves from its early January timeslot to June in 2020, so there will be about an 18-month gap until the tenth MAIN Event. After a muchneeded break before second-semester classes begin, Nagara is already starting to plan and organize the next year’s gala, which he says will involve a mobility unveiling. Those interested in participating can contact Nagara at knagara@mainevent20.com.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Peggy Malnati has more than 30 years’ experience writing about the global plsatics and composites industries. She has organized technical conferences for SPI, SPE and SAE international, edited the 1994 book, “Structural Analysis of Thermoplastic Components” from McGraw-Hill, spent 15 years as board member and communications chair for the SPE Automotive Division, and has been a contributing writer covering automotive and composites beats for various trade publications, including Plastics Engineering. She also provides communications services for plastics-and composites-industry clients globally via her own Detroit-area firm. Contact her at peggy@ malnatiandassociates.com.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

MDM WEST REPORT

MDM West Highlights Innovations in Medical Polymers The Medical Design and Manufacturing West conference in Anaheim highlighted advances in polymers and processes used in the medical field By Geoff Giordano

dvances in polymer performance and processes, like smarter drying to reduce resin degradation and the use of polymer mandrels to make tubing with decreasing diameters were among the hot topics at the Medical Design and Manufacturing West conference from Feb. 5 to 7 in Anaheim, Calif. With some specialty resins costing in the neighborhood of $2,000 a pound, extra investment in equipment to ensure they retain the right amount of moisture without overdrying is clearly worth investigating.

dryers that take a lot of the guesswork out of preventing polymer degradation. That’s a plus for, say, medical device companies or those in other industries for which a user should not have to be a “dryer expert.” Such expertise requires accounting for concepts like moisture regain, low dewpoint air, and improving moisture properties with nitrogen, Haynie explained.

Medical and other plastic tubing are shrinking in size, so polymer mandrels are emerging as vital tools to effectively and efficiently form them. Meanwhile, requirements for chemical and heat resistance for medical devices and wearables—which likely will find their way out of just hospitals and into more consumers’ homes as healthcare becomes more portable and personalized—are driving new application of existing resins and development of specialized materials. Three presenters at MD&M West 2019 offered insights into these trending areas of development.

Drying and Degradation New high-performance resins are costly for a reason, said Mark Haynie, dryer product manager at Novatec of Baltimore, Md. To help processors get their money’s worth from resins that perform above and beyond standard grades, Novatec offers

Novatec’s advanced systems automate the drying process by manipulating key parameters and retaining a multitude of resin “recipes” for future use (left). As oxygen exposure diminishes polymer characteristics, Novatec eliminates the threat with its NitroDry system, which produces its own nitrogen from compressed air to process the polymer(right). Courtesy of Novatec

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Nylon exposed to heat and oxygen can turn yellow and lose some of its properties. Novatec’s NitroDry nitrogen drying system helps eliminate this effect. Courtesy of Novatec

With engineering resins, including ABS and polycarbonate, less than 200 parts per million (ppm) moisture is ideal. “Those kinds of resins sometimes are hard to overdry, and low moisture is not a big problem,” he said. “Normally you get down to about 100 ppm or less on those.” Nylons, however, “have a more narrow window” and are particularly susceptible to improper drying conditions. Below 300 to 500 ppm is too dry, and over 800 ppm is too wet. Urethanes and PVT for products likes tubing or shoe soles should be around 200 ppm and will lose flexibility if too desiccated—potentially leading to a more brittle product. Meanwhile, PET and PETG should be dried to under 50 ppm. “If the temperature exposure is high due to either low moisture on the resin initially or a dryer running at less than maximum [efficiency], the heat input becomes excessive. The resin becomes overdried and results in brittle parts. I’ve seen the clips break off of electrical connectors, and parts that should be resilient become inflexible.” And while resin manufacturers can offer specific guidelines as to how to dry their materials for optimum performance, what if a resin is left sitting out for an extended period of time? For instance, a nylon manufacturer might send material at 1,500 to 2,000 ppm, “but within a day or two, it can go up to 20,000 ppm, and the dry time can go from four hours to 100 hours,” Haynie cautioned.

Days before MD&M West, Haynie recalled, “we were trying to hydrate a resin in our lab” during the recent polar vortex. The nylon had been sitting out for three days; normally it would have picked up significant moisture, but because of the dry air, it lost moisture without being in a hopper. Another factor that can lead to polymer degradation is running materials with mismatched equipment. For instance, an operator might be filling a mold that uses 100 pounds of resin an hour from a drying setup designed to run up to 400 pounds of resin an hour. “You’re not going to rip out the dryer and rip out the molding machine and put in the size you really need,” Haynie said, “so you run these oversize pieces of equipment.” By putting too much energy into the process, the temperature on the outlet of the dryer hopper increases. “Not only am I wasting energy, but I am exposing the polymer to conditions it wasn’t designed to handle.” Even if that system has a temperature setback function, a molder might not necessarily know the proper setting for the resin. Often the only way to know there is a problem, Haynie warned, is by producing a run of bad parts. Novatec’s advanced systems automate the drying process by manipulating key parameters and retaining a multitude of resin “recipes” for future use. For instance, its OverDry Protection function, unveiled at NPE 2018, knows the proper temperature for the resin being processed and makes that adjustment. The system can also bypass

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MDM WEST REPORT

drying periodically when it senses no moisture emanating from the resin. Oxygen is another enemy of polymer; Novatec eliminates the threat with its NitroDry system. When resin is exposed to oxygen, free radicals form, breaking the carbon chains and making the plastic less resilient. This is why resin makers generally test their materials with nitrogen, which is costly and can be hard to handle. Novatec’s NitroDry produces its own nitrogen from compressed air to process the polymer. “Since we introduced this at NPE, we’ve sold a bunch of these systems to people who have seen the yellowing” of parts made with oncewhite nylons that had been exposed to too much heat and oxygen. And the effect is not just the discoloration but the diminishment of the polymers’ properties.

Acetal polymer mandrels by Dunn Industries, a Tekni-Plex business, are

ideal for producing extruded tubes with inside diameters of 0.025 to 0.125 Novatec is striving to develop its dryers inches. Courtesy of Tekni-Plex beyond Industry 4.0 to what Haynie called Industry 5.0. In 4.0, he explained, users “bring data into a repository and make intelligent decisions based on that accumulation of necessary. Copper mandrels are often used and can be data.” But the next phase, he asserted, is a legion of machines that make intelligent decisions by recycled. themselves. Acetal polymer mandrels by Dunn Industries, a Tekni“It’s not artificial intelligence,” he pointed out. “It’s the Plex business, are ideal for extruded tubes with inside intelligence of the programmer who knows what these diameters of 0.025 to 0.125 inches, Lazas noted. “Larger resins should be able to do and helping the user by diameter tubes up to 0.500 inches can be achieved with custom extruded polyolefin mandrels. Other polymers helping him make smart decisions.” can also be used for specific applications.”

Tiny Tubing Tactics When air- or pressure-based free extrusion of thermoplastic tubing for medical and nonmedical applications is not possible, melt extrusion assisted by tiny cylindrical rods called mandrels. “The use of mandrels used in catheter manufacturing has proliferated in recent years due to the increase in innovations and demand for complex designs,” said Dan Lazas, senior director at Tekni-Plex of Wayne, Pa. “Common applications for mandrels include braid-reinforced tubing, where the mandrel supports the inner polymer tube during high-tension braiding, and thin-wall extrusion when free extrusion is not possible or practical.” Polymer mandrels can be used instead of metal when processing temperatures aren’t excessive. When tubes require tiny inside diameters or high-temperature extrusion with materials like PEEK, metal mandrels are

Lazas explained that process of using mandrels during tube extrusion “involves the feeding of continuous mandrels into the back of the extruder during processing. This can support the melt during tube processing, and allows for production of diameters, wall thicknesses, and tolerances that cannot be achieved with free extrusion. For example, polyamide-based thermoplastic elastomer tubing can be manufactured with wall thicknesses as low as 0.0005 inches, with outside diameters as small as 0.005 inches and as large as 0.500 inches with mandrel assisted extrusion.” Wall sizes will continue to decrease, he added, whether it is for smaller-diameter tubes reaching farther into the body or larger-diameter tubes for therapeutic delivery. And mandrels will be at the center of this trend. “Large procedural devices, implants, or highly viscous fluids may require large working channels within the

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catheter shaft. This results in thin wall sections with tight dimensional tolerances.” For instance, “there is a rising demand for micro-catheters used in neurovascular procedures,” Lazas continued. “These are often limited in diameter to 3 French (1mm; or, 0.039 inches) or less to reach distal endovascular sites above the shoulders. These catheters have even thinner walls than coronary catheters, yet still require similar catheter constructions.” (The French scale is a system for measuring catheters.) More complex catheter designs will require inner and outer polymer layers and an embedded stainless steel braid layer. “A common 6 French (2 mm; or, 0.079 inch) coronary diagnostic catheter, used for the injection of contrast media to the heart, may have an inside diameter of 0.056 inches, and therefore a wall thickness of 0.012 inches,” he explained. “A similar size guide catheter, used for delivery of guidewires, balloon catheters, and other devices to the diseased area, requires a larger working channel, or lumen. These may have inside diameters of 0.071 inches, and therefore a wall thickness a third the size of the diagnostic catheter.”

Mindray monitors made with Eastman polymers and used in healthcare facilities throughout North America. The Passport Series of bedside monitors is fully compatible with a list of approximately 50 of today’s most commonly used cleaners and disinfectants due to the increased emphasis on infection prevention. Courtesy of Eastman Specialty Plastics

he explained. “They need to understand how polymers are processed and work closely with molders and polymer suppliers to ensure polymers are processed properly to give them the ultimate performance in the hospital.”

Beating Heat and Germs With hospitals and clinics cracking down even harder on cleaning and disinfection, medical device makers are taking a harder look at their designs to account for more frequent sterilization and limit the cracks and crevices where cleaning solutions can pool.

These concerns must be addressed not only with “heritage conversion processes” but with 3D printing as well, he added. “3D printing processes enable so far unseen complex designs, individualization of devices, local production and just-in-time production. Also, the additive manufacturing processes are becoming more efficient, equipment more affordable and the materials more versatile.”

Likewise, they must ensure their portfolio of polymers is up to the task, asserted Thomas Meehan, specialty plastics technical service representative at Eastman Chemical Co. of Kingsport, Tenn.

In terms of materials, polycarbonate and PC blends become brittle or otherwise degraded after repeated exposure to disinfectants and even drugs. “PC and PC blends are also challenged by increasing regulatory changes classifying BPA, a component in PC, as a reprotoxin multiple times in the last two years associated with the new Medical Device Regulation in Europe.”

“They need to ask for chemical resistance testing protocols and how polymers retain mechanical integrity,”

To meet that challenge, Eastman offers a four-step test for chemical resistance to give design engineers and material

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MDM WEST REPORT

scientists “a jumpstart on screening new materials for improved performance,” Meehan said. Further assisting in this quest for more robust materials is Eastman’s Tritan copolyester products, which resist damage from cleaners and disinfectants. “These materials are able to be injection molded, extruded, and blow molded offering options for medical device manufacturers,” Meehan explained. “The clear grades formulated for fluid management are finding use in enteral feeding, blood contact and chemotherapy infusion where exposure to both the medication and the disinfectants can be challenging for many resins. The Eastman MXF portfolio of products is finding a home in the external housings of diagnostic equipment ranging from handheld devices to large fixed-in-place units where disinfection occurs multiple times each day.” Going forward, great performance demands will be put on polymers to protect patients and clinicians, facilitate portability and wearability, and shield electronics from disinfectants.

“Polymer suppliers are responding to these market needs by offering materials that provide a combination of resistance to repeated chemical exposure, physical durability as well as flame retardancy and electronic shielding,” Meehan concluded. “More materials are being developed because incumbent offerings no longer satisfy the new demands.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Geoff Giordano has been a contributor to Plastics Engineering since 2009, covering a range of topics, including additives, infrastructure, flexible electronics, design software, 3D printing and nanotechnology. He has served as editorin-chief of numerous industry magazines and is founder and chief creative officer of content marketing firm Driven Inbound. He can be reached at geoff@ driveninbound.com.

This biannual conference is the best place to learn about the latest in state-of-the-art additives, pigments & dyes and master batches for plastics, and connect with the entire industry value chain, from raw material and equipment suppliers to OEMs. Attending this conference allows you to keep a finger on the pulse of advancements in the world of additives and color. In addition to the technical speakers and presentations, we also offer the opportunity for companies to present their goods and services by means of table-top displays.

REGISTER NOW! SPE Member: $850 Non Member: $1020 Conference fees include access to seminar, conference dinner, coffee breaks and lunches. Fee for seminar only: $175

Visit 4spe.org/ace19 for more information. 16 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

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DESIGN NOTES

Out of the Shadows, Light Becoming a Key Design Aspect The integration of LEDs and electronics with materials offers endless opportunities for individualization and product differentiation By Robert Grace

hen one thinks of product design, factors such as shape, material choice, texture, and color leap to mind. Typically, the use of light and shadow would fall far down the list. But some companies want to change that mindset and turn the creative application of light into a primary design feature for certain types of products.

Imagination is more important than knowledge.

The growing use of integrated electronics, touchscreens, and various types of sensors—in vehicles as well as in other products such as appliances and wearables—is raising the profile of durable, transparent, transmissive, and heat-resistant resins as they find new applications. Robert Miller, Detroit-based advanced new business development manager with Pacific Insight Electronics Corp., has spent the past 23 years working as an automotive lighting designer with major automakers and firms such as 3M Co. In a phone interview, Miller said, “The most important thing that I see is material integration with LEDs (lightemitting diodes).” He says he spends 60 percent of his design time these days looking at unique materials, such as films that haven’t been done before, and exploring how to integrate things such as clear, optical silicone, to enable the manufacture of products not previously possible with traditional molding technologies. “I’m working with holographic imaging, for instance,” he says, “where you take a hologram and then mold that in to materials to create a holographic cup holder. “We’re taking these opportunities as a canvas and paint and combining them all together to create these really unique technologies ... For example, we’ve created an

Veteran lighting specialist Robert Miller

illuminated star roof by working with Covestro for polycarbonate and with PPG for glass, and we’ve successfully laminated clear circuits with LEDs and capacitive touch into glass and into polycarbonate. So, some roofs in the future can actually have some smarts to them, as well as touch capability.” You could have a

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dome light inside the glass, or individual stars, Miller notes.

Lighting the ‘Mobile Living Room’ “We’ve taken that technology to a whole new level, and done a matrix of LEDs and laminated into a front window on a 2019 [Chevrolet] Malibu—and we literally can scroll messages across that.” The rising popularity of autonomous and ride-sharing vehicles is prompting this increased interest in finding ways to make vehicle interior spaces more like mobile living rooms. You’ll be able to communicate a message in the black line at the top of the windshield, Miller suggests, and you won’t even know it’s there until it goes on. This can go inside the glass, does not change the thickness of the glass, is incredibly robust, and it can run off an app on a phone. Miller—who has a separate career as a book author and a photojournalist for National Geographic—joined Vancouver, B.C.-based Pacific Insight full time in May 2016. (A little more than a year later, in August 2017, Methode Electronics Inc. acquired Pacific Insight for C$177 million.) “I’m skilled in optics, electronics, design and materials,” Miller says, “and my mantra is ‘Imagination is more important than knowledge’.” In his current role, he’s letting his imagination run wild. He also is developing very flexible “wave guides,” which he describes as large-surface-area light guides. Such

features could measure, for example, 5 by 7 inches, or maybe 2 inches wide by 30 inches long. “We can illuminate that surface with LEDs very uniformly by edge lighting.” You can edge-light a surface the size of a poster board and still have enough illumination for it to shine through fabric, for example. He’s worked on weaving optical fibers into cloth, yielding various patterns and designs. Miller says he always aims to make his innovations capable of being made feasibly in a production setting.

Materials Key to Visual Advances Miller sees polycarbonate, as well as other materials such as polyurethanes, as being vital to executing his visions, and he plans to continue seeking non-traditional ways in which to apply them. He cites as examples the creative integration of LEDs or holographic images, or the use of edge or back lighting to produce visually striking new applications. The efficiency of LEDs has increased substantially, making management of the heat they generate less of a challenge than before, Miller notes. Covestro, the German advanced-materials supplier that is working closely with Miller, is developing some of its own lighting design features. It has produced an automotive B-pillar (the post between the front and back windows of a car) that has what the firm calls a “dead front,” meaning it looks like a plain, dark-colored pillar, until the embedded LEDs behind the Makrolon polycarbonate exterior are activated.

Robert Miller says he designed this illuminated center console to showcase some of the leading design trends in automotive interiors. “Smooth, waterfall-like consoles are slowly becoming the norm, and it was our goal to make these surfaces interesting and interactive. We expect to see more of these design trends as autonomous and ride sharing vehicles emerge into the marketplace.” This design used integrated LEDs to simulate stars with capacitive touch and haptic feedback. The traces to the LEDs are nearly invisible and in the next generation, Miller says they will be totally invisible. “Working with Covestro, we were able to package clear film containing our LED circuit and laminate it into 3 mm-thick polycarbonate sheet to create the top part of the console,” he says. The holographic patterns in the cup holders showcase light to create an entirely new look. “Finally,” he notes, “we also added a logo projection area—when occupants enters the vehicle they will see a full-color, animated logo displayed under the top glass where the stars are.”

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

DESIGN NOTES

This display shows how Covestro’s clear Makrolon polycarbonates enable designers to add many features to a part while using a single injection molding tool, in combination with inexpensive film inserts and electronics. In this case, Covestro uses a series of dead-front designs in a B-pillar as an example to escalate trim levels with additional features. Far left is a simple black pillar for a base model, moving right an illuminated logo is added. Additional features are shown with pillars three and four, until the last pillar on the right demonstrates all features, including a stylized fuel gauge and camera. Cameras work well with clear PCs for everything from autonomous driving to facial recognition for vehicle access control. Photo by Robert Grace

This, notes Mark Torgerson, Covestro’s technical marketing manager for mobility in North America, offers various potential benefits: »» An OEM can achieve differentiation in a pillar made from a single set of molds; »» Styling can be enhanced by integrating light, sensors, and more (e.g., displaying a logo); »» The surfaces can be used to create matte or deep-gloss effects; and »» Clear portals can allow for cameras or other sensors (e.g., for security or facial recognition).

Headlamps Turning a ‘Smart Corner’ Some major automotive lighting suppliers, meanwhile, also have recently been displaying their latest innovations. At both January’s CES consumer electronics show and Detroit auto show, for instance, Italy’s Magneti Marelli unveiled the third generation of its Smart Corner platform. A CES 2019 Innovation Awards Honoree in the Vehicle Intelligence & Self-Driving Technology

This Magneti Marelli display car at the NAIAS show in Detroit demonstrates both the use of the front panel of an electric vehicle as a sort of “billboard” or changeable information display, along with the firm’s award-winning Smart Corner platform, which integrates autonomous sensors into headlamps and tail lamps. This serves to streamline design and aesthetic options while still providing excellent lighting performance. Photo by Robert Grace

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category, Smart Corner integrates autonomous sensors into headlamps and tail lamps to provide automakers “with the required functionality for autonomous driving, while maintaining styling aesthetics and world-class lighting performance.” It can accommodate any sensor an OEM may choose to deploy, including LiDAR, radar, cameras, or ultrasonics, as well as advanced, LED-based lighting features such as adaptive driving beam (ADB) and digital light processing (DLP). Smart Corner provides a 360° view around the vehicle with redundancy. Because the sensors are subtly integrated into existing headlamps and tail lamps, Magneti Marelli says an OEM benefits from “a fully calibrated, plug-and-play solution, resulting in a simplified manufacturing process that is lower cost and lighter weight than alternatives.” Inspired by the modular approach of the Smart Corner, Magneti Marelli—which plans to invest $12.6 million at its regional headquarters in Auburn Hills, Mich., north of Detroit—also showcased seamlessly integrated connectivity features in a test vehicle. Technology includes active matrix organic light-emitting diode (AMOLED) displays embedded in the front grille and rear applique to communicate intent, autonomous signaling, an interactive virtual assistant, audible alerts, and positional advertising using what the industry calls “vehicle-to-everything,” or V2X, connectivity. The 100-year-old, Milan-based company, which had been part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, agreed last fall to be acquired by Japan’s Calsonic Kasei (itself backed by U.S. private equity firm KKR), for $7.1 billion, producing the world’s seventh-largest independent automotive supplier. Magneti Marelli also claims to be the first to market with DLP, the world’s first 1.3 million-pixel production headlamp. It says that DLP creates ideal lighting conditions, and can project images onto the road to communicate with drivers and pedestrians.

Exploring the Promise of LEDs Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA of Lippstadt, Germany, meanwhile, showcased a number of its developments both on the show floor and in a customer suite at January’s North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) in Detroit. In an interview, Steffen Pietzonka, Hella’s head of global marketing for lighting for OEMs, suggested that new LED technology has “opened a Pandora’s box” of opportunities when it comes to design and styling. LEDs—which can be used in a line, or on a curve, or many different ways— offer design options not possible with the Xenon lights that burst into prominence in automotive lighting about 20 years ago. It took Xenon lights nearly two decades to achieve 11 percent market penetration in automotive headlights, he said. By contrast, LEDs, which were introduced in this application only about a dozen years ago, already command 15 to 16 percent of the global headlight market. And simple LED lights now can even be less expensive than their Xenon counterparts, he says.

Hella’s Pietzonka: LEDs offer a slew of lighting and design options. Photo by Robert Grace

With LEDs, the pixel count is rising exponentially. Lights that previously had 80 to 90 pixels each now can accommodate thousands of pixels—and each pixel can be controlled individually, Pietzonka notes. Pietzonka posed a provocative question: When autonomous, self-driving vehicles become commonplace, will they even need headlamps? Or will the need for and purpose of lighting change dramatically? With electric powertrains replacing the internal combustion engine, the distinctive front grilles on EVs no longer are required to provide a vital air-flow function. Instead, these front ends offer the opportunity to become digital bulletin boards or screens. The Mercedes star logo, for example, could be permanently illuminated in a smooth surface. This, Pietzonka suggests, is akin “to doing heart surgery with the brand owners,” whose logos and design elements are vital to defining their brand language. Autonomous vehicles also will be able to leverage their many integrated sensors and front-end “billboard real estate” Featured at ANTEC 2019! to enhance safety by, Explore this topic more deeply in the for example, “seeing” ANTEC Insight session on Thursday morning, March 21, in Detroit, when a pedestrian crossthe following panelists will discuss the ing the street and use of light as a design feature: Mark flashing a warning or Torgerson of Covestro; Robert Miller braking accordingly. of Pacific Insight Electronics; and John Hella and others are working on many innovations that involve advanced lighting. For example, the handle on a car door

Simonetti of GOT Interface. Officials from Ford Motor Co. and General Motors also are on the program, discussing the future of mobility. See the full lineup at: http://bit.ly/ANTEC_Insight_Agenda.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

DESIGN NOTES

can include a “dead front” light strip that is invisible to the naked eye when off, but which could light up as red to indicate the door is locked or green if unlocked, Pietzonka notes. BMW, for one, is developing a micro-optical array of lenses—which they call a “light carpet”—that can welcome a driver who is approaching the car, or project light onto the ground near the vehicle to indicate, for instance, which way the vehicle intends to turn. “We can add colors, animations, etc.,” to all these options, says Pietzonka.

Hella Secures New Partners In just the past few months, Hella has entered into strategic partnerships with both Faurecia and Plastic Omnium, a pair of leading French automotive suppliers. In a Jan. 21 press release announcing the latter deal, Hella Chief Executive Officer Dr. Rolf Breidenbach, said: “Lighting is shaping the vehicle design more than ever. The demand for individualization and differentiation will continue to grow in the future. Additionally, lighting can also contribute to communication and safety in automated driving scenarios.”

and the M-Byte models will feature artificial intelligence and machine learning, and are being touted as “nextgen smart devices” by the company’s founders. The M-Byte SUV’s 48 inch-wide, curved digital display in an otherwise spartan dashboard is the real attention grabber, and portends how materials and integrated electronics may help to redesign future vehicle interiors. (See a video interview at CES with Byton product manager Martin Schlierf: bit.ly/Byton_Core77). Meanwhile, In a joint stand at NAIAS 2019 with HBPO GmbH (born from a 2004 joint venture between HellaBehr Fahrzeugsysteme and Plastic Omnium Auto Exterior), Hella displayed organic light-emitting diodes (OLEDs) integrated into the combination rear light of the new Audi A8. The module uses a total of eight OLEDs— each of which is divided into four segments, and can be individually controlled to create different animations for Coming Home and Leaving Home scenarios.

‘Hidden Till Lit’ Edge Lighting Shines At both NAIAS in Detroit and at the CES show the week prior in Las Vegas, Covestro featured a small light box on its stand, along with various seemingly plain plaques of smooth plastic. But initial appearances can

And in a Nov. 21 release announcing the Faurecia collaboration, Breidenbach noted that Hella is “working intensively on concepts for vehicle interior lighting that enable a variety of new functionalities and can be adapted to the different needs of passengers and driving situations.” Faurecia also is a partner with Nanjing, China-based electric vehicle startup Byton, which for the second straight year made a big splash at CES. At the 2018 show it introduced its all-electric M-Byte SUV Concept and one year later it’s readying the M-Byte SUV for production, scheduled for late 2019. Byton at CES 2019 unveiled its all-electric K-Byte sedan, which will cost more and is expected to reach the market in 2021, with a third model due in 2023. Both the K-Byte

When edge lit, these smooth and plain-looking polycarbonate plaques leverage shadows and light to reveal patterns, geometric shapes, and textures. This “hidden till lit” effect has broad potential applications, well beyond automotive, says Covestro’s Torgerson. Photo by Robert Grace

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be deceiving. Slip a plaque into the light box and turn on the edge lighting, and the plain slab visually springs to life, revealing dazzling patterns, geometric shapes, and textures, to even mimic the grain of leather. Torgerson explains how it’s done: “First, a texture is created on the tool surface, which is imparted onto the opaque part via injection molding. A second, clear or translucent shot is then molded over the opaque texture, creating a smooth, easily cleanable top surface.” An alternative approach involves molding the texture onto the back side of a transparent PC part, and then painting the part. “A lightercolor paint or opaque plastic will give a higher contrast effect with the shadows,” Torgerson noted, “while a darker, opaque material will yield a subtler effect, similar to the effect of shadows on white versus on a navy blue carpet.” This so-called “hidden till lit” application, he notes, highlights a couple key attributes of polycarbonatebased materials—excellent transparency and surface replication. Such technology clearly could find application well beyond automotive, with potential uses in everything from appliances and medical devices to consumer electronics, wearables, and even simple decorative panels. It’s clear—from the fervent imagination of designers such as Robert Miller, the electronics expertise of firms like Hella and Magneti Marelli, and the materials know-how of suppliers such as Covestro and PPG—that light is becoming a major element of product design. Light began as functional necessity. Now, combined with the skillful manipulation of color and shadows, light will enable makers of vehicles and other products to endlessly reconfigure and personalize their goods to suit the whims and preferences of their users.

Tarick W. – Ultrasonic Welding Expert Sophie M. – Expert in Applications Development

Connect with the Experts at Emerson Our global team of Emerson market experts offers you unrivaled knowledge and insight into meeting your need for advanced material joining solutions. You’ll discover how our Branson joining technologies— ultrasonics, vibration, laser, infrared, spin, thermal, and hot-plate welding—are uniquely capable of responding to today’s market trends and assembly challenges. To learn more and connect with a material joining specialist in your industry, visit our website.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Robert Grace is a writer, editor and marketing communications professional who has been active in B2B journalism since 1980. He was founding editor of and worked for 25 years at Plastics News, serving as editorial director, associate publisher and conference director. He was managing editor of Plastics Engineering from July 2016 through October 2017, and is now btoh editor of SPE’s Journal of Blow Molding and directing content strategy for SPE. He runs his own firm, RC Grace LLC, in Daytona Beach, FL., and can be contacted at bob@rcgrace.com.

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The Emerson logo is a trademark and service mark of Emerson Electric Co. © Branson Ultrasonics Corporation 2019.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

COVER STORY

Good Things Come in Micro Packages Microelectronics are a booming business, but plastics producers must pack complex components into tiny spaces, leading to some challenges By Geoff Giordano

oday’s consumer and medical electronics are packing a more powerful punch in eversmaller packages. Processing these delicate powerhouses requires the utmost care to protect their functionality.

To handle the increasingly complex plastic parts required for contemporary microelectronics, Accumold of Ankeny, Iowa, has developed specialized micro production cells to support “a high-velocity strategy for innovation.” Courtesy of Accumold

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The possibilities—and joining challenges—are endless. From precision micro-overmolding and specialized production cells to ultrasonic welding, the world of microelectronics is abuzz with the efforts of top players who are continually refining their manufacturing approaches. “The applications are everywhere,” says Marcus Chiesa, application development engineer at Emerson Automation Solutions/Branson Ultrasonics in Danbury, Conn. All the cell phones, cameras and wearable fitness and health-monitoring devices we use contain printed circuit boards, LED or LCD screens, speakers, and microphones. In medical applications, implantable insulin pumps and other microfluidic drug-delivery devices combine microelectronics with complex fluid pathways, membranes, or filters. “The possibilities—and joining challenges—are endless.”

Small Parts, Big Volume To handle the increasingly complex plastic parts required for contemporary microelectronics, Accumold of Ankeny, Iowa, has developed specialized micro production cells to support “a high-velocity strategy for innovation,” says Aaron Johnson, vice president of marketing and customer strategy. Accumold’s custom-built micro-molding presses can turn out parts for the consumer electronics market on the order of about 2 million a week. Tolerances of under 25 microns are not uncommon. Accumold’s repertoire includes housings, packaging, connectors, optics for all sorts of microelectronic components like sensors, datacomm, and other mechanical structures. “These systems can even have multiple molding or automation stations,” Johnson says. “This also allows us to utilize the leanest of processing strategies from part to package.” Most micro-molded components for such delicate electronics “are part of a larger manufacturing scheme,” he explains. “Ejection, inspection, packaging can become equally important to success as the design itself. These three things may seem like run-to-the-mill but when you’re asking for microns every decision is amplified.” A recently completed project required a multi-channel housing on a part to be produced at the rate of several million a month. “The ejection location became the challenge,” Johnson says. “This 3mm-square component required the lid to have wall sections that kept each channel discreet. Because of the functionality of the part, the micron-

The Branson GSX Ultrasonic Welding Platform. Courtesy of Emerson

level tolerances, the geometry of the hardware, and the extremely small surface area, there was virtually no room for ejection. Ejecting on certain surfaces would either risk the discreet functionality or leave witness marks that the tolerances and geometries would not allow.” Getting the part’s design and process right necessitated a holistic approach that meant all stakeholders involved jointly assessed every conceivable parameter down to inspection and packaging and had a “long discussion” about “what quality looked like.” “There may be a desire to move the prototyping along so that other testing may occur,” Johnson acknowledges. “Just be sure to keep the end in mind along the way. No one wants to start over because what you can make for one you can’t make for millions.” Furthermore, thermoplastics are under tremendous pressure to perform “to meet the theoretical designs,” he concludes. “Manufacturing processes, such as three times solder reflow, put as much if not more demand on the materials than the micro-geometries push the limits. Material

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

COVER STORY

science is playing a key role in breaking down some of the barriers the microelectronics industry is facing. The geometries can be made, but often the thermoplastic materials don’t like the 260° C reflow oven.”

Investing in Innovation To continue to improve its knowledge of plastics materials used in medical micro molding, medical contract manufacturer MTD Micro Molding of Charlton, Mass., hired Patrick Haney as its first R&D engineer. “His primary focus is on developing new prototype equipment and investigating the unique polymer phenomena that are so often found in micromedical processing,” explains Lindsay Mann, director of sales A medical device application welded with Branson ultrasonics technology. Courtesy of and marketing. “His knowledge Emerson of polymer behavior supports the goal of obtaining an advanced understanding of what the micro injection molding process glass-filled liquid crystal polymer and two 0.028-inch does to the morphology and (0.71 mm) diameter shafts. corresponding characteristics of plastic materials. From there, the intention is to apply that newfound knowledge »» An overmolded catheter tip that measures five thouto create superior and more reliable products for the sandths of an inch wall thickness at the overmolded medical device industry.” section over the steel ring and features tolerances of plus or minus one thousandth. In the medical space, where delicate electronics are often »» A carbon-filled PEEK component overmolded over a involved, precision micro-overmolding is preferable to .031-inch diameter stainless steel rod for a sports using glues and adhesives or “costly and cumbersome medicine device. assembly operations that can lead to failure modes and high fall-out rates.” MTD is seeing more interest in its specialized overmolding process for applications “Overmolding can provide a more repeatable, consistent involving things like lenses, circuit boards, batteries, process for manufacturing, compared to manual assembly and gluing,” Mann concludes. It is often not thought of microfluidic chips, and more. during original part design over a concern that sensitive Shot-to-shot consistency is guaranteed by instrumented substrates might not be able to withstand high molding molds, Mann notes, which can improve part functionality. temperatures. “The thought is that this process would Camera systems ensure precise positioning of destroy sensitive electronics like batteries, but MTD has overmolding tool inserts, and robots and automation been able to establish an overmolding process that does not damage these types of components.” allow cost-effective high-volume production. Recent parts for which MTD has optimized its processes include: »» A five-piece microelectronic assembly that features

Ultrasonic Seals the Deal As plastic assemblies containing sensitive electronics are downsized to fit smaller devices, joining their components and enclosures becomes a more painstaking process.

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Ultrasonic Welding

Vibration Welding

Spin Welding

Laser Welding

Infrared Welding

Hot Plate Welding

Thermal Processing

Amorphous Resins

★

Semi-Crystalline Resins

✔

★

Olefins

✔

★

TPRs

✘

✔

★

✔

★

Composites

✔

★

✔

★

Thin Walls

★

✘

★

●

Complex Geometry

✔

★

✔

★

Large Parts

✔

★

✘

✔

★

Small Parts

★

Internal Welds

★

✔

★

●

Long Unsupported Walls

★

✘

✔

★

●

Thermoplastic Fabrics

★

✔

●

✔

●

Thermoplastic Films

★

✔

●

✔

Part

Material

Characteristics

★ Recommended

✔ Limited

✘ Not Recommended

● Does Not Apply

There are a number of factors to take into consideration when determining the optimal technology for plastics part assembly. Courtesy of Emerson

Ultrasonic welding is often chosen as the manufacturing method because it uses intermolecular stress to generate heat that melts plastic and joins parts without a separate heat source, explains Branson’s Chiesa. To be candidates for ultrasonic welding, these enclosures must be made of weldable plastic and possess suitable wall thickness, joint design and surface flatness. Overall part geometries are another factor to consider to protect PCBs, crystals, and other small electronic components during processing, Chiesa notes. “It is important to evaluate these designs to ensure that they can tolerate the vibratory action of ultrasonic welding without being damaged due to resonant frequencies or the accumulation of vibratory energy in a small area of the part, or bowed or fractured due to the downward pressure that is needed to trigger a weld and the working amplitude and frequency needed to join the parts,” he explains. If part geometries are more complex or cannot withstand the particulates ultrasonic welding can generate, laser welding might be the preferred choice. “I have seen multiple welds in the same larger assembly utilize the different technologies, such as ultrasonic, laser,

or other methods,” Chiesa says. “Maybe a subassembly has a series of small internal welds, which can be done ultrasonically. But if the larger assembly that contains it has an irregular shape, higher cosmetic requirements, or must be particulate-free, then another technology must be used.” Branson continues to refine its ultrasonic process, incorporating new advanced controls in its GSX welder to handle smaller and more fragile parts with lower actuation trigger force, he says. “We can reliably control actuation force to about 5 Newtons, or one-fifth the force of typical industry welders,” he says. “At the same time, we can join these more delicate parts using weld cycles that combine higher-frequency vibration—30 or 40 kHz—and lower amplitudes. The result is a highly controlled weld that is quite gentle to even delicate parts. So, for example, assembling small parts into electronic components or microfluidic medical devices is a much more straightforward process.” And because no separate heat source is required with ultrasonic welding, “cycles are short—usually 0.5 seconds or less—electrical consumption is much lower, and changeovers are easy and safe because you don’t have to cool hot elements or scrape or clean melted or

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

COVER STORY

A five-piece device made from glass-filled liquid crystal polymer. The microelectronic assembly features two 0.028-inch (0.71 mm) diameter shafts. The objective for MTD Micro Molding was to assemble the five pieces with minimal amount of plastic material. The added challenge is that one piece is glass. Courtesy of MTD Micro Molding

burned plastic,” he concludes. New plastics materials are another wrinkle in choosing a joining method—and might require returning to the drawing board to optimize part design for manufacture. “When we see a new material being proposed for a project, which is becoming more and more common, we typically ask for material samples so we can perform feasibility trials and gain familiarity with that material. At the same time, trials of prototype parts also allow us to consider the overall design and suggest ways to tailor it to better suit the joining technology.” Newer materials that combine multiple base materials or contain many different additives “can be unpredictable,” Chiesa continues. “I can recall a circumstance where a customer was using what should have been a weldable material—PEEK—but the way that it was modified changed its reaction to the welding process so that the

planned joint design wouldn’t work. A joint redesign was required. For this reason, it’s always wise to approach any material or supplier changes with caution. Sometimes, changing the material does change how it will react with the joining process.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Geoff Giordano has been a contributor to Plastics Engineering since 2009, covering a range of topics, including additives, infrastructure, flexible electronics, design software, 3D printing and nanotechnology. He has served as editor-in-chief of numerous industry magazines and is founder and chief creative officer of content marketing firm Driven Inbound. He can be reached at geoff@driveninbound.com.

28 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

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MICROELECTRONICS

Polymers Help Boost Performance of Next-Generation Electronics Polymer technology is enabling smaller and cheaper electronics with increased performance By Nancy D. Lamontagne

lectronics play a key role in our everyday lives, and pressure is mounting to make electronic devices smaller while simultaneously boosting their performance. Microelectronics enable ultra-thin phones, automated driving, new types of wearable sensors, and a variety of internet-connected devices—also known as the Internet of Things. The ever-shrinking size of microelectronics is bringing new challenges for polymers that are critical parts of these electronics.

Better Electronics with Thermosets Dr. Jeff Gotro of InnoCentrix LLC says many technology advancements in electronics are possible because of improvements in highly engineered polymers, such as thermosets. These polymers are used for electronic packaging, which includes the adhesives, coatings, underfills, laminates, and dielectric layers that interconnect circuits, chips, and other components into a system-level circuit board. “There’s an unending push for lower cost and increased performance, and this is especially true for electronics packaging,” says Gotro, who has been involved in polymers for electronic applications for more than 30 years. “Costs must also be kept low without sacrificing performance.” He says the mobile phone and automotive markets are driving much of the advances in highly engineered polymers. “Every year cars get more and more sensors, and self-driving cars have even more advanced technology,” says Gotro. “All of these sensors are driven by high-performance polymers.” Improvements

high-performance

thermosets

are

Fan-out wafer-level packaging produces a smaller package footprint and heavily relies on polymers such as epoxy for mold compounds and polybenzoxazole (PBO) for redistribution layers. Courtesy of Dr. Jeff Gotro, InnoCentrix LLC

enabling higher density designed for circuit boards, which can help shrink their footprint. Also, new materials allow electrical signals to travel faster with less energy loss. This not only improves performance but also leads to lower power requirements, which can help batteries on mobile devices last longer. Gotro says many electronics companies are adopting a new technology called fan-out wafer-level packaging (FOWLP). This approach is used to make semiconductor devices with increased integration and more external contacts, which create a smaller package footprint with improved thermal and electrical performance. Thermosets such as epoxies, polyimides, and acrylates as well as polymers that can be

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patterned with light are playing a key role in FOWLP. “FOWLP is being used to make chips for mobile phones, and much of the electronics used in automobiles and aerospace applications will soon be packaged in this way,” says Gotro. “This technology is on a strong growth trajectory.”

Strength and Flexibility Vishal Mehrota, sales and marketing director for films and fabrics with Saint-Gobain North America, says physical challenges such as part strength and flexibility continue to be a challenge for plastics used in microelectronics and semiconductors. Also, the higher frequencies associated with 5G and autonomous vehicle sensors are driving the need for materials with high electrical properties. “Within a given material property set, there is only so much that can be achieved,” says Mehrota. “This drives a desire for new enhanced materials that are often more expensive but deliver better performance.” Saint-Gobain offers process-consumable release fluoropolymer films for semiconductor and LED moldings as well as plastic dielectric parts as a circuit board base. Film-assisted molding is used to increase the yield and machine productivity of manufacturing integrated circuits. By reducing the release forces necessary to remove the integrated circuit from the mold, the film eliminates the need to inspect and clean the mold in between shots. Saint-Gobain continues to enhance the dimensional stability of their films. For semiconductor moldings, improved stability decreases movement of the release film, which causes wrinkles and other defects. For circuit board components, this will lessen the mismatch of thermal expansion, reducing delamination and other failure modes.

output are not typically experienced with producing molded components with micron-scale features,” he says. “As micro-geometries and tolerances are pushed to higher levels, it becomes harder to produce high volumes.” The lead-free solder reflow practices commonly used in microelectronics manufacturing also pose a challenge for molders because few thermoplastics can tolerate the 260° C three-times reflow environment. “Designing for these applications requires expertise with exotic, highheat, engineering grade resins,” says Hargens. “Accumold is uniquely equipped to support these high-velocity needs because of our more than 30 years dedicated to microinjection molding.” By providing critical micro-molded components, Accumold allows device manufacturers to stay focused on full manufacturing. “Our micro-molded parts help customers do more in the same, or even less, space, which has brought countless innovations to reality,” says Hargens.

Solderable Polymer Thick-Film Conductors Polymeric thick film (PTF) is a commonly used, lowcost method for screen-printing simple electronics onto PET, polycarbonate, polyimide, and other temperature sensitive substrates. This technology is useful for printing electronics for smart fabrics and other various wearable electronics. However, the silver polymer thick-film pastes typically used to make conductors doesn’t work well with soldering, making it difficult to attach other components and features. To solve this problem, Heraeus developed a new line of solderable polymer thick-film conductors based on a silver-coated copper conductive filler. “The new technology

Balancing Quality and Speed Accumold, a company specializing in high-volume precision micro-molding, partners with device manufacturers and their contract manufacturers to provide micro-molded components that help maximize the performance of micro-sensors, micro-optics, and micro-connectors without increasing size. Roger Hargens, president and chief executive officer of Accumold, points out that in the fast-paced world of microelectronics, the demand for quality, volume, and speed often collide. “Molders used to high-volume, high-speed

New polymer thick-film conductors are designed to work with different types of solders. This shows a board printed with the solderable polymer and populated with components. Reprinted with permission from Seigi Suh et al. (2018) Solderable Polymer Thick-film Conductors for Low Temperature Substrates. International Symposium on Microelectronics: Fall 2018, Vol. 2018, No. 1, pp. 000310-000316

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

MICROELECTRONICS

A new organic plastic allows electronics to function in extreme temperatures without sacrificing performance. Courtesy of Purdue University/John Underwood

provides a low cost, environmentally friendly alternative to copper plating and etching FR4 boards,” explains Gregory Berube from Heraeus Precious Metal. “It is also conducive to digital designs, allowing more customization of complex electronic circuitry.” Berube presented the new polymer thick-film conductors at iMAPS 2018, the 51st International Symposium on Microelectronics. They are solderable, resistant to solder leaching, and produce sheet resistivities close to that of pure silver polymer conductors. Electronics printed with the new material can be cured at temperatures as high as 200° C without any performance degradation. The product line accepts different types of solders, including the traditional SAC-305. “Die shear adhesion is a standard test for the strength of a solder bond between a component and a substrate,” says Berube. “Under certain processing conditions, the die shear adhesion of the solderable polymer thick-film conductor, when printed directly on an FR4 board, approached that of the solder bond on copper-plated and etched FR4 boards.”

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The ability to bond components and leads directly to the polymer thick-film conductor could help expand the capability of printed electronics used to create 3D-printed electronics, low-cost LED lighting, medical and performance-monitoring sensors, flexible displays, and low-temperature heaters. According to Berube, the new platform is ready for commercialization, although customization may be required for certain applications.

Plastic Electronics at Extreme Temperatures Although most polymers are insulators, there are a few that conduct electricity. Researchers from Purdue have used one of these conducting plastics to develop a material that can reliably conduct electricity at temperatures up to 220° C. The new polymer blend could allow electronics, which don’t typically work well at high temperatures, to be used around hot car engines and in other applications involving extreme temperatures. “Although it hasn’t yet been integrated into functional electronics, the new material could potentially be used for high temperature sensors in oil drilling, automobile engines, and aerospace applications, where temperatures are very harsh,” says Jianguo Mei, leader of the research team. To create thin-film semiconducting polymers that are thermally robust, the researchers mixed semiconducting polymers with plastics that have high glass-transition temperatures. The two plastics form an interpenetrating network in which the plastic with high glass-transition

temperature keeps the shape of the semiconductor stable, even at high temperatures. When blending the plastics, the researchers had to find just the right ratio so that one plastic didn’t dominate the other. In a paper published in Science, the researchers report that the performance of this new polymer blend remains stable from room temperature up to 220° C when used in thin-film transistors. Mei points out that plastic electronics are designed to complement rather than compete with traditional silicon technology. “Plastic electronics offer a low-cost, lightweight, and flexible solution for places and situations where electronics don’t perform well,” he says. “In the future, I think we will likely see the emergence of hybrid electronics that take advantage of the properties of both conducting plastics and traditional silicon electronics.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Nancy D. Lamontagne is a Chapel Hill, NCbased freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing about science, technology, and engineering. Over the past seven years, she has contributed Plastics Engineering articles on a variety of topics, including thermoforming advances, blow molding technology, innovations in medical plastics, packaging trends, and education and career development in the plastics industry. Contact her at www. nancylamontagne.com

Featuring two days of presentations, case studies, and exhibits, related to polymers, pipe, and fittings for applications in water/sewer/gas for industrial, commercial, municipal, and residential infrastructure. Exhibits, demonstrations, and networking opportunities over the two days will fully immerse attendees in the latest developments for plastic pipe and fittings. Interested attendees can choose an alternative education track on the first day, earning Professional Development Hours (PDH) from classroom, demonstrations, and hands-on training.

Registration is underway!

• Exhibitor space and sponsorship opportunities are also available.

Visit www.4spe.org/pipe19 for more information.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

AS I SEE IT

Additive Impact By Pat Toensmeier

D printing or additive manufacturing is a low-cost design and development tool. Though unsuitable for high-volume production, users capitalize on its strengths to shorten design cycles and economically produce low-run parts. Andrew Edman, industry manager for engineering products, design, and manufacturing at Formlabs, a Somerville, Mass.-based developer of stereolithography and selective laser sintering systems, looks at where 3D printing is and where it is going.

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How fast is 3D printing growing? There is huge growth in desktop printers and interest in using printing to solve production problems. 3D printing is also baked into university engineering programs. Students who are familiar with the process now advocate for it as employees.

What types of companies use 3D printing? Engineering and product development groups that move quickly in design, iterations, and in time to market, and which look to reduce costs. As printing materials become more capable, there is interest in product companies to do more with the process. We worked with Gillette, which wanted to print razor handles for special orders, a lowvolume product. With printing, they don’t guess demand, and there is no overproduction. The technology is moving from prototyping to more end-use production. The user pool is expanding.

Which markets benefit most from printing? There is much development in higher-mix, lower-volume products. Custom earbuds for headphones are one example. Large companies also use printing for ondemand spare parts for products that were made decades ago. No one wants to inventory these parts without predictable demand. Consumers and regulators are aware of waste and want more long-term life from products. The European Union, for one, may mandate spare part supplies for some appliances to reduce waste. This will drive demand for printing.

What advances are necessary to make 3D printing widespread? Materials are one. Do existing materials match part needs? Most engineers are familiar with thermoplastics but not so much with 3D materials. Improved automation is necessary, too, so there is no requirement for really experienced technicians to set printers up. Greater automation would streamline ordering and printing, allow a smooth flow of work, and reduce labor cost.

What technologies will increase printing speeds? Every printing supplier is focusing on speed. Speed is bounded by whatever technology is in use. Can we speed up a mechanical gantry, or accelerate x and y movements? Other times it’s materials—can you formulate resin to be more reactive? More R&D is needed to improve speed.

What other advantages does printing provide? Increased proximity to work. In the past, labor costs and other capital expenses were often outsourced for operations like machining. With 3D printing, companies can re-verticalize operations by economically bringing related

Andrew Edman

work back in-house. This shrinks the feedback loop and allows immediate tweaks to be made on line. This enables continuous improvement in many manufacturing contexts and reduces the risks of experiment and change.

What should users consider when sourcing a printer? Ease of use. A lot of the value of printing is more flexibility for experimentation. What problems are you trying to solve, and will a system help address them? It’s good to have an application in mind, as well as a plan for expansion once an initial problem is solved. Also, how will a 3D system affect an entire company and who will eventually loop into it? These machines are tools and have the benefits and limitations that other tools do.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Pat Toensmeier is a Hamden, Conn.-based freelance writer and reporter with more than 35 years of business journalism experience, much of it with Modern Plastics and Aviation Week. Over the years he has specialized in writing about manufacturing, plastics and chemicals, technology development and applications, defense, and other technical topics.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

ENGINEERED BIOPLASTICS

Plastics That Do Not Last Forever: Engineered Bioplastics As consumers and global companies respond to the resounding call to reduce the incidence of plastics waste in products and packaging, companies and researchers are developing new materials and products to help achieve aggressive sustainability goals. By Jim Romeo

verybody knows Legos. They’re the plastics bricks we played with as kids and millions of youngsters continue to enjoy every day of the year. Traditionally, they have been made from plastics that last forever. And so had their packaging—until now. The socially responsible Lego Group, a Danish toy production company based in Billund, Denmark, announced that by 2025, packaging will be made from renewable or recycled materials and will be easy for consumers to recycle.

They’ve been working at it for a while and have successfully reduced the weight of their global packaging by 50,000 metric tons. They expect to make the ketchup polyethylene terephthalate (PET) plastic bottle fully “circular” (goes back to the earth) by 2022 with material that can be returned and reused as food-grade packaging. Elsewhere, IKEA, the Swedish company that designs and sells ready-to-assemble furniture, kitchen appliances, and home accessories, is joining the charge. They plan to

The Kraft Heinz Co. has also launched an environmental stewardship strategy for greater packaging sustainability. Like Lego, they plan to make 100 percent of their packaging recyclable, reusable, or compostable by 2025. Heinz plans to partner with packaging experts and organizations to explore technical, end-of-life and infrastructure solutions; they are already collaborating with Environmental Packaging International (EPI). The company is aggressively pursuing recycled materials in their packaging and decreasing the overall volume of materials used.

In 2018, the company began using recycled plastic in packaging ‘blisters’––the transparent plastic windows which allow consumers to have a sneak peek into some LEGO boxes. LEGO boxes in the U.S. and Canada started to feature the How2Recycle® label promoting packaging recycling and providing American and Canadian consumers with clear guidance to responsibly recycle their LEGO packaging. Courtesy of LEGO

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LEGO® botanical elements such as leaves, bushes, and trees will be made from plant-based plastic sourced from sugarcane in the future and will appear in LEGO boxes already in 2018. Courtesy of LEGO

remove all single-use plastic products from restaurants in stores by 2020; design all their products with new circular principles and only use renewable and recycled materials; and become climate-positive and reduce the total IKEA climate footprint by an average of 70 percent per product via their extended supply chain and vendor network. Such corporate efforts are a response to consumers who seek environmentally sustainable practices, products, and packaging to protect our earth. What was probably inconceivable decades ago is becoming a reality. Plastic bottles—which become waste by the millions each day— can be made from plants using derivatives of lactic acid, the stuff that makes our muscles sore. This material allows the bottle to degrade like potato peels or coffee grounds: back to the earth. Manufacturers of packaging and products are hearing the cry, loud and clear, and are acting with aggressive goals. They are gaining good publicity along the way, maintaining and touting their commitment to be companies that produce products that won’t destroy the earth, but instead, preserve it.

Our Environmentally Conscious World “There is a general awareness globally about environmental

issues, for example––plastics pollution in the oceans,” explains Dr. Carlos Diaz, associate professor of packaging science at the Rochester Institute of Technology. “This is creating a demand for alternative solutions and the idea of biodegradable plastics is very appealing. At the same time, big consumer packaged goods (CPG) companies such as P&G [Procter & Gamble], J&J [Johnson & Johnson], and PepsiCo are setting aggressive sustainability targets to be fully recyclable or compostable.” Consumers nowadays are much more environmentally conscious. They may have many products in the same category to choose from. Offer them a biodegradable choice that goes into the compost bin via the recycling bin, and they may choose it when they otherwise would not have. “Brands are using the environmental awareness to create products for environmentally conscious customers who are willing to pay a premium for features such as compostability,” says Diaz. “Also, governments can use legislation to ban shopping bags or other singleuse plastics. Acceleration of this trend will depend on bioplastics developers to deliver the required performance for the applications at competitive cost and encourage big CPGs to continue embracing compostable solutions. Governments can use legislation to incentivize

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

ENGINEERED BIOPLASTICS

Coca-Cola says PlantBottle packaging is the latest breakthrough designed to change the way the world thinks of plastic bottles. It is the first ever fully recyclable PET plastic beverage bottle made partially from plants (above). Courtesy of Coca-ColaDasani DASANI® designed its water bottle with a substitute for PET plastic partially sourced from plants. Their PlantBottle® packaging helps the environment with more eco-friendly plastics (right). Courtesy of Dasani

organic waste streams. Also, consumers can demand and adopt organic waste streams and packaging that is compatible.” Compostable bioplastics complement unused food in conserving waste. “We have recycling options such as composting for the food materials themselves, but when combined with plastic packaging in food service, retail or household settings, the excess food often cannot be converted in a sustainable way,” says Dr. Thomas Trabold, associate professor at the Rochester Institute of Technology and head of their Golisano Institute for Sustainability. “Bioplastics such as PLA (polylactic acid), a biodegradable and bioactive thermoplastic

derived from renewable resources such as corn starch, cassava roots, chips, or sugar cane, have improved the situation; but these materials generally degrade much more slowly than food and other organic materials. “Our approach is to develop bioplastic packaging that degrades at a rate closer to that of the food items they contain while meeting the minimum requirements of

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mechanical strength, oxygen permeability, etc.,” explains Trabold. “Our hypothesis is that with such advanced bioplastics, it would be possible to co-process food waste and packaging in aerobic composting operations or other processes such as anaerobic digestion, where microbes in an oxygen-free environment generate biomethane that can be utilized as a renewable energy resource.”

ways to partner with composting facilities and waste management to create those close loops for organic waste. Zero-waste initiatives can also push the use of compostable packaging. Research on PLA and PHA needs to continue to improve their performance in terms of heat resistance, sealability, gas barrier, and biodegradability to present a compelling case for a switch from traditional plastics.”

Biodegradable Material

The speed of degradation must be considered. “The timeframe for degradation is relatively slow when compared, for example, to food waste,” says Trabold. “Also, PLA requires high temperature to fully degrade. In a project sponsored by New York State Pollution Prevention Institute, we explored ways to improve biodegradation rates through blending different resins such as PLA and PHA, copolymerization, and additive technology. The idea is to tweak the properties of the material, targeting specific packaging applications such as film or thermoformed containers while increasing the biodegradation rate.”

Plastics engineering has a new task in materials development, particularly for the packaging industry. The emergence of bioplastics provides new and sustainable solutions that meet consumer demand, as well as the world’s, for socially responsible treatment of discarded plastics. Plastics may still be gathered, recycled, and reused, but the proclivity of packaging manufacturers to offer biodegradable bioplastics is a growing request. They will be turning to plastics engineers, more than ever before, to request packaging that degrades into organic matter; it goes in the compost bin along with the discarded food and other organic waste. Their challenge will be focused on determining which materials such as polylactide and polyhydroxyalkanoate (PHA) meet this demand. Indeed, optimistic signs are evident that more sustainable bioplastics are already in use. “I am starting to see more and more compostable waste streams,” says Diaz. “Industry leaders should look for

The next generation of bioplastics may require new and innovative polymers that supplement the use of PLA and PHA. “Some polymers are already 100 percent biobased and available, which may be suitable for some applications today,” notes Christophe Schilling, chief executive officer and co-founder of Genomatica, a San Diego-based biotechnology company that develops and licenses biological manufacturing processes for the

Samsung Electronics is one company leading the charge with eco-friendly packaging including bioplastics. They state: “From the moment product planning begins until a product’s final disposal, our Eco-design Process, adopted in 2004, thoroughly analyzes a product’s potential environmental impact.” Courtesy of Samsung

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

ENGINEERED BIOPLASTICS

production of intermediate and basic chemicals. “If biodegradability or compostability matters for your application, additional classes of polymers may be partially bio-based as well as biodegradable,” says Schilling. “Other novel polymers could be developed, but that takes time. For product designers and engineers designing a material or product, we can now take polymers they know work well for their application and ask whether underlying monomers could be made from bio-based feedstocks. That starts a discussion with their supply chain and sends a strong signal of their interest. Technology firms like Genomatica can then get involved to make it happen.”

Start with Monomers

From discussions with at least eight different vendors, all except for one advised us to continue working with petroleum-based plastics and instead focus our efforts to train end-consumers into better recycling.

The road to the perfect polymer often means developing monomers that subsequently create polymers. These polymers have the right properties and characteristics to meet the end goal of sustainable bioplastics as a solution. “Growth will depend on bioplastics providing real advantages in terms of an overall solution,” says Schilling. “They can be a combination of functional performance advantages, cost attractiveness, what happens at end-of-use, as well as how they are made, or their beginning-of-life story.” Schilling says monomers are a key driver in moving bioplastics forward. They will rely on developing technology to make bio-based versions of widely used monomers, which are the building blocks for polymers. He cites the work of one of their customers, Novamont, which makes a fourth-generation MaterBi compostable bioplastics. It uses a renewable monomer called bio-based BDO (1,4-butanediol) that they produce at their Bottrighe plant using Genomatica technology. He adds that beginning with monomer development as an initial approach is an example of impacting the beginning-of-life story for polymers, already in high demand and delivering performance for many applications. “Technologies and products that offer a strong end-of-use story, such as Aquafil’s approach for nylon-6, will continue accelerating category growth,” he says.

Technological Advances A strong end-use story is, perhaps, the emblematic vision of much scientific. It’s the vision that drives scientists and engineers to technological advances. Throughout the world, an amalgam of research and subsequent developments will help provide more options and properties for plastics engineering and

The plastics industry has a lot of legacies and great knowledge, but now is the time to stop being conservative and really amplify the change, according to Anders Alkalid, chief executive officer of A Good Company. Courtesy of A Good Company

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the manufacturing communities they serve. There’s no shortage of efforts under way; research teams are employing their collective intellect to build the better bioplastic. Here are some technologies to watch: »» Researchers at the University of California, Berkeley, sought to exploit the biosynthetic machinery in cells and use simple fluorinated building blocks to create new organofluorine target molecules. They genetically engineered a microbial host for organofluorine metabolism, allowing it to produce a fluoridated intermediate known as a diketide that could then be used as a monomer for the in-vivo production of fluorinated bioplastics. »» James Dumesic, professor of chemical and biological engineering, along with his team at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, have developed an economical and high-yielding way of producing furandicarboxylic acid (FDCA). It uses a plant-derived solvent called gamma-Valerolactone (GVL) and is one of 12 chemicals the U.S. Department of Energy calls critical to forging a “green” chemical industry. FDCA is a necessary precursor to a renewable plastic called PEF (polyethylene furanoate) as well as to a number of polyesters and polyurethanes. As a viable substitute for PET, PEF is a widely used, petroleumderived counterpart catching the interest of CocaCola, H.J. Heinz, and others that seek alternatives to PET. »» At Tel Aviv University, researchers are exploring bioplastic polymers that don’t require land or fresh water resources to produce. Instead, their idea for a new polymer is derived from microorganisms that feed on seaweed. It is biodegradable, produces zero toxic waste, and recycles into organic waste. “There are already factories that produce this type of bioplastic in commercial quantities, but they use plants that require agricultural land and fresh water,” said Dr. Alexander Golberg of Tel Aviv University’s Porter School of Environmental and Earth Sciences in a news release. “The process we propose will enable countries with a shortage of fresh water, such as Israel, China, and India, to switch from petroleumderived plastics to biodegradable plastics.” »» The American Chemical Society is sponsoring research that examines blends of different compounds and components to create better and more sustainable bioplastics. The research focused on 15 plastics or blends in different environmental conditions (composting, anaerobic digestion, soil, and fresh or marine water). A blend of polylactic acid (PLA) and polycaprolactone (PCL) degraded completely to carbon dioxide, biomass, and water under typical home-composting conditions. Many of the individual plastics and blends that were tested decomposed under conditions of anaerobic digestion, a process that can produce biogas, and all degraded with industrial composting. The researchers say that biodegradable plastic blends could create new possibilities for managing plastic waste. However, only two plastics,

polyhydroxybutyrate (PHB) and thermoplastic starch (TPS), broke down completely under all soil and water conditions. Therefore, biodegradable plastics are not a panacea for plastic pollution, and they must be managed carefully after they leave the consumer, the researchers say.

Still Work to Do Research conducted at universities and through professional societies and consortiums around the world is still in the dawn of bioplastics development. There’s still some distance to go. But in time, we can fully expect biomass and organic materials to be used more substantially in the fabrication and processing of materials that will produce bioplastics (no longer plastics in the proverbial sense). “After meeting 10 different C-suite executives from the plastic industry, the main advice from us would be to stop delaying the movement of bioplastic and embrace the evolution,” says Anders Ankarlid, CEO of Swedenbased A Good Company, a climate-positive e-commerce launch. “In all conversations, a lot of typical questions from a traditional industry holding the breaks came to light. ‘Will this new material destroy my production facility?’ ‘Will the bioplastics smell at my facility?’ ‘We have tried, and it doesn’t work in our current molds.’ As we see it, the plastic industry has a lot of legacies and great knowledge; but now is the time to stop being conservative and really amplify the change.” Tim Brooks, vice president, environmental responsibility at the LEGO Group, may have expressed it best: “To support our company mission, we have a Planet Promise [a corporate mission statement term] and we have pledged to play our part in protecting the planet for future generations. Using sustainable packaging is an important part of fulfilling that promise. By bringing forward our ambition of sustainable packaging, we are also acknowledging the need to find better packaging solutions sooner. We’ve made good progress in the past three years, and there is still work to do.”

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Jim Romeo is a freelance writer based in Chesapeake, VA. For more than 20 years, he has contributed numerous articles to various publications on the topics of logistics, engineering, software and supply-chain management. He earned his B.S. in mechanical engineering from the U.S. Merchant Marine Academy, and an MBA from Columbia Business School at Columbia University. Contact him at freelancewriting@yahoo.com.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

INDUSTRY NEWS

Frank A. Bozich Named President and CEO of Trinseo

rinseo, a global materials company and manufacturer of plastics, latex binders, and synthetic rubber, announced that Frank A. Bozich assumed the role of president and chief executive officer effective March 4, 2019. He replaces Christopher D. Pappas, who has held the position since 2010 and recently announced his retirement. Pappas will transition to the role of special adviser to the CEO in support of a smooth transition. Stephen M. Zide, chairman of the board of directors, says, “Frank Bozich is an accomplished CEO known for his strong personal leadership and track record of driving business growth and corporate transformation. His breadth of experience … is an ideal fit with Trinseo’s strategic priorities, and we look forward to him leading the company in its next phase of growth. In addition, we thank Chris Pappas for his nearly nine years of exemplary leadership. Chris was the principal architect of Trinseo’s culture and strategy, and during his tenure, EBITDA grew three-fold while the company’s EH&S performance improved as well. All of us wish him the very best in his well-deserved retirement.” Pappas adds, “In the time I’ve gotten to know Frank Bozich, I’ve been impressed with his knowledge of our industry and his strong leadership capabilities. I’m confident that

he will lead Trinseo very effectively for the future, and I’m committed to support him in a smooth and seamless transition.” Bozich was most recently president and CEO of SI Group, a global specialty chemical company that operates more than 30 manufacturing facilities on five continents, from 2013 to 2019. Prior to joining SI Group, he held several executive management positions at BASF, where he served as president of the company’s catalysts division, group vice president of precious and base metal services, and group vice president of the integration management office. Previously, Bozich was group vice president, enterprise technologies and ventures at Engelhard Corporation (which was acquired by BASF in 2006) and also held leadership positions at Rohm and Haas, Croda Adhesives, Inc., and Apex Adhesives (which he founded in 1986). He also serves as a director of OGE Energy Corp., an Oklahoma-based gas and electric utility company, and previously served on the board of trustees of Ellis Medicine, a hospital in Schenectady, N.Y. Bozich, who holds a bachelor’s degree in Chemistry and a master’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Chicago, as well as a master’s degree in Chemistry from the University of Illinois, will be based at Trinseo’s global operations center in Berwyn, Pa.

Anomatic Acquires Injection Molding Company CP Technologies

nomatic Corp., a full-service manufacturer of anodized aluminum and metallized packaging solutions, announced the acquisition of CP Technologies Co., an injection molding firm located in Columbus, Ohio. Anomatic, which supplies some of the world’s largest automotive, beauty, personal care, consumer electronics, pharmaceutical, medical devices, and spirits brands, expects this acquisition to bolster its ability to provide full-package solutions to customers in key markets. CP Technologies, family owned and operated since its founding in 1992 by Dr. Charles D. Amata Sr., supplies high-performance molded plastic components and assemblies to packaging, consumer and industrial,

electrical and utilities, appliance, telecom, and construction companies. The company has a 31,000 square-foot manufacturing facility, located less than five miles from Anomatic’s headquarters in New Albany, Ohio. “CP Technologies shares our passion for producing high-quality products with great technical expertise,” says Anomatic President and Chief Executive Officer Scott Rusch. “They offer extensive knowledge of the injection molding process and their experience, location, and employees will be a great fit for Anomatic. We’re very excited about this opportunity to combine our capabilities and resources to continue to exceed expectations as a one-stop shop for our customers.”

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Chevron Phillips Chemical and Sealed Air Join Alliance to End Plastic Waste

hevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC and Sealed Air Corp. announced recently that they have joined the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, a new global organization committed to eliminating plastic waste in the environment. “As a founding member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste, our mission is to help create win-win solutions where we continue to provide the world with valuable plastic materials while helping society keep them from ending up in our environment …” says Chevron Phillips President and Chief Executive Officer Mark Lashier. “Our company has always been focused on innovation and problem solving, and we look forward to collaborating with Alliance members on breakthrough solutions to tackle this enormous global issue.” “The Alliance brings together key members across the value chain, from materials suppliers to waste management companies, to jointly develop solutions that minimize and manage plastic waste as well as promote means to use waste plastics in a circular economy,” says Ted Doheny, Sealed Air president and CEO. “Our increased investments in innovation, including collaborations with partners such as the Alliance, will help us accelerate progress toward our 2025 sustainability goals.”

the future of our planet,” says Jim Fitterling, Dow CEO. “Working with companies like Sealed Air allows the Alliance to accelerate efforts and take decisive action to put an end to plastic waste in the environment.” Among Chevron Phillips’s latest sustainability initiatives, the company furthered investments in recycling technologies through its America Styrenics joint venture, which recently announced a partnership with Agylix to operate a recycling center for used polystyrene products that converts them back into their original liquid form, styrene monomer. With the ability to turn products back into usable building blocks, the venture between America Styrenics and Agylix is designed to keep waste out of the environment and create a circular solution with industry value.

The Alliance brings together key members across the value chain, from materials suppliers to waste management companies, to jointly develop solutions that minimize and manage plastic waste as well as promote means to use waste plastics in a circular economy.

The alliance is a nonprofit organization that unites companies that make, use, sell, process, collect, and recycle plastics. To date, it has more than $1 billion pledged and a goal of investing $1.5 billion over five years to eliminate unchecked plastic waste in the environment, especially in the oceans. Members include manufacturers, consumer goods companies, retailers, converters, and waste management firms, along with leaders in government, intergovernmental organizations, and civil society from across the globe. “Keeping our environment free of waste is important to

“Compared to alternatives like glass and steel, plastics provide dramatic reductions in energy use, material consumption, and greenhouse gas emissions, but it’s time to solve the problem of plastic waste in our environment and oceans,” says Lashier.

In addition to its participation in the alliance, Sealed Air recently announced its 2025 Sustainability and Plastics Pledge, a commitment to delivering 100 percent recyclable or reusable packaging offerings, with 50 percent average recycled content, by 2025. It is also a participant in the Ellen MacArthur Foundation’s New Plastics Economy initiative and recently became a signatory to the New Plastics Economy Global Commitment. In the months ahead, the alliance will make investments and drive progress in four core areas to reduce plastic waste, as well as reuse and recycling. These include waste infrastructure development, innovation in recycling and recovery systems, and education and cleanup efforts in regions suffering most from plastic waste.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

INDUSTRY NEWS

MFG Chemical Names Darin Gyomory Chief Financial Officer

lobal specialty and custom chemical manufacturer MFG Chemical LLC has named Darin Gyomory its chief financial officer. Gyomory joins MFG Chemical with 25 years of experience, having served previously as CFO of WL Plastics and Scepter Inc. and as area controller at Dean Foods. He graduated magna cum laude from Northwood University with a Bachelor’s degree in business Administration and earned his MBA at Walsh College. “Darin is a highly-experienced and strategic CFO, who will play a key role in guiding this great company through its acquisitions, partnerships, and the organic growth we are experiencing every day,” says Keith Arnold, CEO of MFG Chemical and member of the SOCMA board of governors. MFG Chemical services a variety of global markets,

including agriculture, asphalt, graphic arts, lubricants, mining, oilfield, paints and coatings, personal care, pulp and paper, and water treatment. Headquartered in Dalton, Ga., the company operates four manufacturing facilities in Northwest Georgia and Pasadena, Texas, and recently received three SOCMA Awards for plant safety and process efficiency. Its key chemistries include dioctyl sodium sulfosuccinates (DOSS), water soluble polymers, rheology modifiers, amides, esters, imidazolines, surfactants, and specialty anhydrides. “I’m proud to become a member of MFG’s senior management team,” Gyomory says. “This is an exceptional company, well-known for its business integrity, product quality, and plant safety. I look forward to helping make even greater things happen in MFG’s future.”

One Rock Capital Partners to Acquire Nexeo Plastics

ne Rock Capital Partners, LLC announced today that one of its affiliates has entered into a definitive agreement to purchase the plastics distribution business of Nexeo Solutions, Inc. The transaction will follow Nexeo’s pending acquisition by Univar Inc. and is expected to close during the first half of 2019. “The acquisition of Nexeo Plastics is the culmination of a yearlong evaluation by One Rock during which we utilized our extensive experience in executing corporate carve-outs, together with our knowledge of the plastics, chemicals, and distribution industries,” says R. Scott Spielvogel, managing partner of One Rock. “We fully expect that we will be able to help management fortify and expand the capabilities of the business, thereby driving value for suppliers and customers alike.” One Rock managing partner Tony W. Lee adds, “We are excited about the opportunity to create a standalone plastics distribution business and invest in growth by

deepening its relationships with customers and supplier partners. We look forward to collaborating with Nexeo Plastics’ management team to achieve the full potential of the business.” Nexeo Plastics distributes plastics products, including polymer products and prime engineering resins. The company connects suppliers with customers over a cross section of industrial segments in more than 60 countries throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. “We are very excited to have One Rock invest in our business, which Nexeo has built into one of the leading global plastics distribution companies,” says Shawn D. Williams, executive vice president, Nexeo Plastics. “We look forward to operating as a pure-play plastics business and will focus our talent and resources on expanding our service offering for our suppliers and customers worldwide.”

44 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

Greif Completes Acquisition of Caraustar Industries

reif, Inc, a global industrial packaging products and services company, recently completed its previously announced purchase of Caraustar Industries, Inc.

“I am pleased that we have completed the acquisition of Caraustar Industries and I welcome our new colleagues to the Greif team,” says Pete Watson, Greif’s president and chief executive officer. “The addition of Caraustar bolsters our leadership position and enhances our existing portfolio of packaging solutions. We look forward to delivering on the opportunities that the addition of Caraustar provides for our team, our customers, and our shareholders.” Greif estimates that it will be able to achieve at least $45 million in cost synergies and performance improvements within the next 36 months through the integration of the former Caraustar operations into its existing business. The company also anticipates that the acquisition will enhance its existing margins, be immediately accretive to earnings and free cash flow, and strengthen and balance its existing portfolio. Greif believes that integration risk is low given Caraustar’s operational adjacency and the

strong cultural fit between the companies. Greif produces steel, plastic, and fibre drums, intermediate bulk containers, reconditioned containers, flexible products, containerboard, uncoated recycled paperboard, coated recycled paperboard, tubes and cores, and a diverse mix of specialty products. The company also manufactures packaging accessories and provides filling, packaging and other services for a wide range of industries. Caraustar manufactures recycled materials and paper products. Its four business lines include recycling services, mill group (coated and uncoated paperboard and specialty paperboard products), industrial products group (tubes and cores, construction products, protective packaging, and adhesives), and consumer packaging (folding cartons, set-up boxes, and packaging services). Caraustar serves four principal recycled boxboard product end-use segments: tubes and cores; folding cartons; gypsum facing paper; and specialty paperboard products.

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Understanding global growth trends, markets, applications and economics driving the Plastics Packaging Sector

This inaugural forum addressing this continually growing and vibrant plastics sector, is the region’s event to learn about the latest state-of-the-art developments, technologies, global growth trends, markets, applications, economics as well as, challenges impacting this sector. Participants are also expected to be exposed to, and interact with, the entire regional and international industry value chain; from raw material and equipment suppliers, industry experts, to brand owners as well as OEM’s.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

PATENTS

Our Regular Roundup of Notable Patents By Roger Corneliussen Protein Delivery U.S. Patent 10,123,976 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Dispersion of Poloxamer-Protein Particles, Methods of Manufacturing and Uses thereof,” Alexandra Paillard, Marie-Claire Venier, and Jean-Pierre Benoit (Institut Nantional de la Sante Etde la Recherche Medicale (Inserm), Paris, and Universite d’Angers, Angers, France) Proteins are important polymers in medicine and are critical building blocks for all biostructures. However, delivery and application are difficult because of degradation and proteolysis. Paillard, Venier, and Benoit found that poloxamer/protein complexes stabilize proteins for delivery making stabile encapsulation possible. Poloxamer is a nonionic block copolymer consisting of hydrophobic polyoxypropylene chains connected to hydrophilic polyoxyethylene chains. These copolymers may be linear or branched tri- or tetra-block copolymers. When the protein is precipitated in the presence of a poloxamer, protein/poloxamer particles are formed. These particles can then be formed into microspheres by prilling. The result is a microcapasule which shows slow sustained release over 20 days or more.

Nanoparticle Formation U.S. Patent 10,124,327 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Nano-Composite and Method of Producing the Same,” Wei-Hung Chiang and Huin-Ning Huang (National Taiwan University of Science and Technology, Taipei) Nanoparticles are usually prepared by solution precipitation. However, the reaction time is, often, long–– on the order of several hours. In addition, the size is not precise with agglomeration. The preparation chemicals often contribute to environmental pollution. Chiang and Huang produced nano-composites efficiently from a solution, using a substrate with plasma activation. The solution contains one dimensional nanomaterials with a zero-dimensional nanoparticle precursor. After activation, nanoparticles are quickly self-assembled onto the substrate, resulting in uniform nanoparticles. Candidate substrates include graphene, functionalized graphene, molybdenum disulfide, graphene nanoribbons, and carbon nanotubes. A high-voltage, high-power circuit

forms an argon plasma or other gas plasmas. After precipitation, there remains very little environmental pollution.

Oil-Water Filtration U.S. Patent 10,124,298 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Highly Selective, Ultralight, Electro-Spun Filter Media for Separating Oil-Water Mixtures,” Lida Baghernejad, Erin Iski, Ram S. Mohan, Ovadia Shoham, and Seyi Odueyungbo (University of Tulsa, Tulsa, Okla.) Undesirable oil-water emulsions are very common in the oil refining industry and as well as in the environment and must be removed. Baghernejad et al. developed a filter for oil-water separation based on a nano-fibrous mat formed by electrospinning a solution of a natural polymer with polystyrene. The result is a bunch of natural fibers reinforced with polystyrene fibers. Thus, this nanofibrous mat will have hydrophobic and oleophilic sections enabling a separation of oil from oil-water mixtures. The mat may also be treated with surfactants to change wettability as needed for separating oil and water droplets from wet gas.

Additive Pultrusion U.S. Patent 10,124,546 (Nov. 13, 2018), “3D Thermoplastic Composite Pultrusion System and Method,” David W. Johnson, Scott A. Garrett, and Stephen G. Moyers (Ebert Composites Corp., Chula Vista, Calif.) Thermoplastic 3D printing using computer numerical control (CNC) with three-axis positioning is rapidly expanding. However, pultrusion has not yet been adapted to this technology. Johnson, Garrett, and Moyers developed a 3D thermoplastic pultrusion system based upon a 3D variable die system with 3D thermoplastic forming machines to continuously produce thermoplastic composite pultrusion with varying cross-section and constant surface contour. The system includes shapeable and flexible dual-temperature bands with a rotating assembly that rotates the 3D thermoplastic forming machines to develop a twisted structure.

46 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

Digesting Plastics U.S. Patent 10,124,512 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Method for Recycling Plastic Products,” Cedric Boisart and Emmanuel Maille (Carbios, Saint-Beauzire, France) Plastics are inexpensive and durable materials but are not usually biodegradable, leading to disposal problems. The results are substantial quantities of plastics piling up in landfills and in natural habitats worldwide, generating increasing environmental problems. Boisart and Maille recycled plastics by degrading the plastics with enzymes and recovering monomers for future use. The result is a recycling method for mixtures of plastics without the need for cleaning or separations. For best results, the plastics should include at least one polyester or polyamide. Enzymes include polyamidase produced by a recombinant strain of Escherichia coli.

Better Blown Films U.S. Patent 10,125,247 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Polyethylene Compositions,” Wen Li, Adriana S. Silva, Jianya Cheng, and Periagaram S. Ravishankar (ExxonMobil Inc., Baytown, Texas) Polyethylene is a popular resin for blown films. This process requires a balance between processability and properties. The search is on for improved synergism for an improved commercial product. Li et al. developed an improved polyethylene for blow molding consisting of 85 weight% (wt%) ethylene with C3 to C10 alpha olefin and 0.10 to 10 wt% cyclic-diene terpolymer. Proper cooling increases chain relaxation resulting in improved impact strength, tear strength, and tensile properties

Yoshikawa, and Rei Yamamoto (Hitachi Chemical Co., Ltd., Tokyo) As the electronics are growing in function and complexity, efficient heat disposal is more and more important. Tashiro et al. developed a heat radiation sheet having increased heat-radiation with excellent handleability improving heat dispersal. The heat radiation sheet consists of a binder, thermoplastic or thermoset rubber, curing agent, and 20 to 60 wt% oriented expanded, anisotropic graphite powder.

Overmolding PEEK Materials U.S. Patent 10,125,257 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Polymeric Materials,” Alan Wood (Victrex Manufacturing Ltd., Lancashire, England) Polyetheretherketone (PEEK) materials are highperformance materials for high-performance areas such as aerospace. Overmolding is a common method for molding complex structures, but it is very difficult to overmold polyetheretherketone (PEEK) resins onto PEEKlike structures with strong bonding. Wood developed an effective overmolding process in which the overmolding material melting temperature is less than polymeric part. The overmolding resin is PEEK with a crystallinity of at least 30 percent and less than 60 percent. The part has a crystallinity of at least 30 percent and less than 60 percent. The overmolding resin is completely melted during molding while the parts are only partly melted on the surface. The temperature of the part may be raised to at least 190º C during molding.

Wearable Powered Devices Thinner Liquid Crystal Films U.S. Patent 10,125,240 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Liquid Crystal Polymer Composition,” Hitoshi Tsuchiya, Masahiro Kihara, and Masahiro Fukazawa (Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry, Ltd., Osaka, Japan) Because of the excellent balance of mechanical properties and processability, the search is on for improved liquid crystal materials with improved fluidity leading to reduced thicknesses with even improved performance. Tsuchiya, Kihara and Fukazawa developed a liquid crystal polymer with improved fluidity during molding without degrading the mechanical properties. This material contains 100 parts by weight of a liquid crystal polymer, 1 to 200 parts of filler and 0.01 to 2 parts of a melamine compound as a flow modifier. Applicable liquid crystal polymers are based on aromatic dicarboxylic acids with aromatic diols or diamines.

Cooler Electronics U.S. Patent 10,125,237 (Nov. 13, 2018), “Heat Radiation Sheet and Heat Radiation Device,” Noriji Tashiro, Michiaki Yajima, Tomonori Seki, Atsushi Fujita, Tooru

U.S. Patent 10,137,306 (Nov. 27, 2018), “Materials, Devices and Systems for Piezoelectric Energy Harvesting and Storage,” Canan Dagdeviren, John A. Rogers, and Marvin J. Slepian (University of Arizona, Tucson, and University of Illinois, Urbana, Ill.) Nearly all classes of active wearable and implantable biomedical devices rely on some form of battery power for operation. Although advances in battery technology have led to substantial reductions in overall sizes and increases in storage capacities, operational lifetimes remain limited, rarely exceeding a few days for wearable devices and a few years for implants. There is a need to develop medical devices that generate greater amounts of power for longer times. Dagdeviren, Rogers, and Slepian developed medical devices powered by natural contraction and relaxation motion of tissue. The systems are capable of being bent, folded, or otherwise stressed without fracturing and include piezoelectric materials on a flexible substrate. These devices are based on multiple layers of the energy harvesting material with rectifiers and batteries. Examples are based on spin-cast layers of silicone elastomer attached to rectifiers and batteries.

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

PATENTS

Fused Filament Fabrication U.S. Patent 10,137,617 (Nov. 27, 2018), “Low Shear Process for Producing Polymer Composite Fibers,” Vlastimil Kunc, Chad E. Duty, Lonnie J. Love, and Amit K. Naskar (UTBattelle LLC, Oak Ridge, Tenn.) Fused filament fabrication (FFF) can produce detailed and complex structures by a layer-by-layer process in which a fibrous material is extruded through a nozzle and deposited in a raster. Because only a limited number of materials, such as a limited number of thermoplastics and some engineering plastics, have been used as a feedstock for FFF, the final products generally have limited mechanical properties. Kunc et al. produced a polymer composite fiber by pushing a melt through a die with a plunger at a fixed speed to provide a substantially constant pressure on the melt moving through the die. The melt is deposited and solidified onto reinforcing filaments such as carbon, metal oxide, or metal filaments. This minimizes shear forces on the melt to minimize filament breakage resulting in high tensile strength, thickness uniformity, and surface smoothness.

Reducing Noise U.S. Patent 10,137,666 (Nov. 27, 2018), “Noise Absorbent Fabric Having Improved Heat and Sound Insulation Property and Method for Manufacturing the same,” Keun Young Kim, Kie Youn Jeong, Bong Hyun Park, and Won Jin Seo (Hyundai Motor Co. and Kia Motors Corp., Seoul, South Korea) Noise is an unwanted side effect of industrial development causing gradual damages. Various methods have been taken to prevent noise. None have been very effective. Kim et al. developed a noise-absorbent fabric having a superior heat-insulation property and sound-insulating property. This fabric consists of a nonwoven fabric of a heat-resistant fiber, impregnated with a binder and bonded to a metal film. This noise-absorbent fabric has superior sound-absorption that can be maintained at high temperatures of 300º C or more. In addition, the noiseabsorbent fabric because of the binder can be molded to the desired three-dimensional shape.

Polypropylene Foam U.S. Patent 10,137,624 (Nov. 27, 2018), “Method to Direct Compound Extruded Structure for the Production of Irradiation Crosslinked Polypropylene Foam,” Jesse Jude Baldwin, Pawel Sieradzki, and Paul Geibler (Toray Plastics America Inc., North Kingstown, R.I.) Specialty foams may be manufactured using a process that

includes grinding materials, blending materials, extrusion, irradiation, and foaming. This process may produce irradiation crosslinked polypropylene foam, which can be used for automotive interior trim applications but these processes are complicated and expensive. A need exists for manufacturing irradiated cross-linked foams in a low cost and efficient manner. Baldwin, Sieradzki, and Geibler extruded polypropylene resin into an extruder adding a liquid crosslinking agent and later a chemical blowing agent. The mixture is then extruded and irradiated to induce crosslinking. Later the mixture can be foamed and solidified. The final structure consists of 30 to 80 percent polypropylene and 20 to 75 percent crosslinking. A crosslinking agent of divinylbenzene is necessary for polypropylene materials.

Bone Replacements U.S. Patent 10,143,555 (Dec. 4, 2018), “Customized Implants for Bone Replacement,” Scott DeFelice and Anthony DeCarmine (Oxford Performance Materials, LLC, South Windsor, Conn.) Customized implants for bone replacement are prepared from poly(ether ketone ketone) or PEKK and to a computer-based imaging and rapid prototyping (RP)-based manufacturing method for the design and manufacture of these customized implants. Unfortunately, PEKK processing temperatures are quite high. In addition, less than favorable compressive residual stress profiles have been observed in these customized PEKK scaffolds, attributed to the relatively high solidification rates demonstrated by PEKK materials. DeFelice and DeCarmine customized implants for bone replacement by rapid prototyping PEKK oowders using computer-based imaging and fusing the powder in place with a laser beam. These structures, properly fused, have biomechanical properties similar to bone even if they contain carbon black and aluminum powder.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR Dr. Corneliussen is professor emeritus of materials engineering of Drexel University in Philadelphia. He has been an SPE member since 1962 and an active member of the Philadelphia Section serving as president and national councilman for several years. The above patents are selected from the 100 to 400 plastics-related patents found by reviewing 3,000 to 7,000 U.S. patents published each Tuesday. Readers can review the complete list of plastics-related patents by week at www.plasticspatents. com.

48 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

#90

Hydraulics: Getting the Right Fluid To operate hydraulic machines correctly, hydraulic fluids need to be the correct viscosity. Viscosity is a fluid’s resistance to deformation by shear stress and is a measure of the thicknessof the fluid, i.e. a high-viscosity fluid is thickand a low-viscosity fluid is thin. The viscosity of a hydraulic fluid decreases with temperature, i.e. it gets thinner. If the fluid is not at the correct viscosity,then the machine will not operate as set,and if the viscosity is not stable,then the machine will not be stable. Viscosity index (VI) is a measure of the change in viscosity with temperature. A low VI means a high change in viscosity with temperature and a high VI means a low changein viscosity with temperature. A constant viscosity is vital for hydraulic machines because decreases in fluid viscosity will decrease pump efficiency and decrease the machine’s energy efficiency.A higher viscosity will increase the volumetric efficiencyof the pump, increase the volume output,and can improve the system response time. For high-speed machines where the system response

time is the limiting factor this can also potentially reduce cycle times. Energy savings from using high VI fluids are typically in the range 4 to 10 percent of the energy used by the hydraulic pump but these will vary with the machine, the application,and other factors. Sites should verify savings through controlled trials.

Action: »»

Sites using hydraulic machines should examine their current hydraulic fluid and change to high VI fluids

»»

The changeover can be gradual and does not have to be site-wide. It can be a planned maintenance change to improve energy efficiency.

»»

Do not forget to assess the environmental impact of the hydraulic fluid used. Some of the synthetic fluids can have environmental benefits too. Dr. Robin Kent - ©Tangram Technology Ltd. (www.tangram.co.uk)

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

EVENTS

SPE & Partnered Conferences

2019 March 18-21 / SPE ANTEC® 2019 Marriott Renaissance Center Detroit, Mich. Contact: Scott Marko Tel: 203-740-5442 Email: smarko@4spe.org Web: www.4spe.org/antec

March 27-29 / SPE European Additives & Colors Conference Le Méridien Frankfurt Frankfurt, Germany Contact: Kathrin Lehmann Tel: 0049-1752922796 Email: kathrin.lehmann@evonik.com Web: www.4spe.org/ACE19

April 3-5 / 2019 SPE TPO Shanghai Shanghai Marriott City Center Shanghai, China Contact: Sassan Tarahomi Tel: 201-887-7635 Email: starahomi@comcast.net

April 16-17 / SPE Plastic Pipe & Fittings Conference

May 7 / SPE AUTO EPCON 2019 Detroit-Troy Marriott Troy, Mich. Contact: Gary Kogowski Tel: 248-797-7433 Email: GKogowski@ravagoamericas.com Web: www.4spe.org/AutoEpcon

June 3-4 / SPE Decorating & Assembly Division TopCon and IMDA Symposium Marriott Conference Center-Cool Springs Franklin, Tenn. Contact: Jeff Peterson Tel: 785-271-5801 Email: jeff@petersonpublicatons.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Sept. 4-6 / SPE Automotive Composites Conference & Exhibition (ACCE) The Diamond Banquet & Conference at the Suburban Collection Showplace Novi, Mich. Contact: Alper Kiziltas, Matt Carroll Tel: 201-675-8361 Email: akizilt1@ford.com, matt.carroll@gm.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Sept. 9-11 / 2019 SPE Thermoforming Conference®

Philadelphia Marriott West West Conshohocken, Pa. Contact: James Mason Tel: 610-816-5720 Email: jim.mason@mmd-llc.com Web: www.4spe.org/pipe19

Wisconsin Center and the Hilton Milwaukee City Center Hotel Milwaukee, Wis. Contact: Brian Winton/Steve Zamprelli Tel: 630-585-5800; 516-334-2300 Email: bwinton@ptiextruders.com; s.zamprelli@ formedplastics.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

May 1-2 / SPE Middle East Plastics Packaging Forum

Sept. 16-18 / Annual SPE Blow Molding Conference 2019

The Westin City Centre Manama, Bahrain Contact: Raed AlZubi Email: Ralzubi@4spe.org Web: www.4spe.org/MEPlasticPack

Crowne Plaza Ravinia Atlanta, Ga. Contact: Ron Puvak Tel: 419-867-5400 Email: r.puvak@plastictechnologies.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

May 1-2 / SPE Extrusion Minitec+ Polymers Center for Excellence Charlotte, N.C. Contact: Charlie Martin Tel: cmartin@leistritz-extrusion.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Sept. 23-25 / SPE CAD RETEC Color and Appearance Conference Renaissance Cleveland Hotel Cleveland, Ohio Contact: Steve Esker Tel: 614-679-4677 Email: steve@paramountcolor.com Web: www.specad.org

50 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

Oct. 1-3 / SPE Vinyltec® 2019 Hilton Fairlawn Hotel Akron, Ohio Contact: Viv Milpass Tel: 330-342-1120 Email: vivian.malpass@tek-mark.com Web: www.4spe.org/Vinyltec

Oct. 6-9 / SPE Automotive TPO Marriott Hotel Troy, Mich. Contact: Sassan Tarahomi Email: starahomi@iacgroup.com Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Oct.7-10 / FOAMS 2019: Advances in Foam Materials & Technology University of Valladolid Valladolid, Spain Contact: Miguel Angel Rodriguez-Perez Tel: +34 655138399 Email: marrod@fmc.uva.es Web: www.4spe.org/Events

Other Industry Events

2019 March 5-7 / Global Automotive Congress “Plastics-in-Motion” Sheraton Charlotte Hotel Charlotte, N.C. Contact: Heather Dib Tel: 586-737-7373 Email: ecm@executive-conference.com Web: http://executive-conference.com

SPE Webinars April 11 / Basic Rubber Technology 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

April 24 / Resume 101-You’ve Written Your Resume-Now What? 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

April 26 / Patent Law Fundamentals For Scientists, Engineers and Managers - PART 1 12:00 - 1:00 PM (EST)

May 1 / Design = Emotion + Function 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

May 3 / Patent Law Fundamentals For Scientists, Engineers and Managers PART 2 12:00 - 1:00 PM (EST)

May 10 / Patent Law Fundamentals For Scientists, Engineers and Managers PART 3 12:00 - 1:00 PM (EST)

May 14 / Sandwich Panel Design and Thermoplastic Honeycomb Technology Overview – Extending the Weight and Cost Reduction Opportunities 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST)

May 17 / Patent Law Fundamentals For Scientists, Engineers and Managers PART 4 12:00 - 1:00 PM (EST)

June 13 / An Introduction to Dynamic Mechanical Analysis 11:00 AM - 12:00 PM (EST) www.4spe.org/webinars

www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

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www.plasticsengineering.org | www.4spe.org | MARCH 2019 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING |

EDITORIAL INDEX

3M Co.......................................................................................... 18 ABC Group Inc............................................................................. 11 Accumold.............................................................................. 24, 31 A Good Company......................................................................... 40 Alliance to End Plastic Waste........................................................ 43 American Chemical Society.......................................................... 41 Anomatic Corp............................................................................. 42 ANSYS Inc.................................................................................... 11 Apex Adhesives Inc...................................................................... 42 Aristo Cast Corp.......................................................................... 11 AutoDesk Inc............................................................................... 11 BMW............................................................................................ 22 Byton........................................................................................... 22 Calsonic Kasei.............................................................................. 21 Caraustar Industries Inc............................................................... 45 Carbios........................................................................................ 46 Chevron Phillips Chemical Co. LLC .............................................. 43 Coca-Cola-Dasani ........................................................................ 38 Compuware Corp. ......................................................................... 9 CP Technologies Co. ................................................................... 42 Covestro ..................................................................................... 18 Croda Adhesives Inc. .................................................................. 42 Daimler AG ................................................................................. 11 Dasani ........................................................................................ 38 Dassault Systèmes SE .................................................................. 10 Dean Foods ................................................................................ 44 Detroit Fashion Week .................................................................. 11 Eastman Chemical Co. ................................................................ 15 Ebert Composites Corp. .............................................................. 46 Emerson Automation Solutions/Branson Ultrasonics ................... 25 Englehard Corp. .......................................................................... 42 Environmental Packaging International ........................................ 36 ExxonMobil Inc. .......................................................................... 47 Faurecia ...................................................................................... 22 Fiat Chrysler Automobiles ........................................................... 21 Ford Motor Co. ............................................................................. 9 Formlabs .................................................................................... 34 General Motors Co. ..................................................................... 10 Genomatica ................................................................................ 39 Greif Inc. ..................................................................................... 45 Groupe PSA ................................................................................. 11 HBPO GmbH ................................................................................ 22 Hella GmbH & Co. KGaA .............................................................. 21 Heraeus Precious Metal ............................................................... 32 Hewlett-Packard Co. .................................................................... 11 Hitachi Chemical Co. Ltd. ............................................................ 47 Hyundai Motor Co. ...................................................................... 48 IGI .............................................................................................. 11 IKEA ............................................................................................ 36 InnoCentrix LLC .......................................................................... 30 Institut Nantional de la Sante Etde la Recherche Medicale ............ 46 Inteva Products ........................................................................... 10 Johnson & Johnson ...................................................................... 37

Kaleidoscope Animations Inc. ..................................................... 11 Kia Motors Corp. ......................................................................... 48 Kraft Heinz Co. ........................................................................... 36 Lawrence Technological University ................................................ 9 Lego Group ................................................................................. 36 Mackevision Corp. ...................................................................... 11 Magna Exteriors .......................................................................... 10 Magneti Marelli ........................................................................... 20 Mazda Motor Corp. ..................................................................... 11 MFG Chemical LLC ...................................................................... 44 MTD Micro Molding ..................................................................... 26 National Taiwan University of Sicence and Technology ................ 46 New York State Pollution Prevention Institute .............................. 39 Nexeo Solutions Inc. ................................................................... 44 Novatec ...................................................................................... 12 OGE Energy Corp. ....................................................................... 42 One Rock Capital Partners LLC .................................................... 44 Oxford Performance Materials LLC .............................................. 48 Pacific Insight Electronics Corp. .................................................. 18 PepsiCo ...................................................................................... 37 Plastic Omnium ........................................................................... 22 Procter & Gamble ........................................................................ 37 Purdue University ........................................................................ 33 Rochester Institute of Technology ............................................... 38 Rohm and Haas ........................................................................... 42 Roush Enterprises ....................................................................... 11 Saint-Gobain North America ........................................................ 31 Samsung ..................................................................................... 39 Sealed Air Corp. .......................................................................... 43 Shiloh Industries Inc. .................................................................. 11 SI Group ..................................................................................... 42 SPE Automotive Division ............................................................. 11 Tekni-Plex ................................................................................... 14 Tel Aviv University ...................................................................... 41 Tesla Inc. .................................................................................... 11 Toray Industries Inc. ................................................................... 11 Toray Plastics America Inc. .......................................................... 48 Trinseo ....................................................................................... 42 Ueno Fine Chemicals Industry Ltd. .............................................. 47 Univar Inc. .................................................................................. 44 Universite d’Angers ..................................................................... 46 University of Arizona - Tucson .................................................... 47 University of California – Berkeley ............................................... 41 University of Illinois – Urbana ...................................................... 47 University of Tulsa ...................................................................... 46 University of Wisconsin – Madison ............................................... 41 UT-Battelle LLC ........................................................................... 47 Victrex Manufacturing Ltd. .......................................................... 47 Volkswagen Group ...................................................................... 11 WardsAuto.com .......................................................................... 10 WL Plastics .................................................................................. 44

Plastics Engineering (ISSN 0091-9578) is published monthly, except bimonthly in July/August and November/December, by Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., a Wiley Company, 111 River Street, Hoboken, NJ 07030 USA. The magazine is compiled and edited by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Editorial and Business Office, 6 Berkshire Blvd., Suite 306, Bethel, CT 06801 USA. Telephone +1 203-775-0471, Fax +1 203-775-8490. SPE Home Page: www.4spe.org. Communications should be sent to the Editor. Send subscription orders and claims for non-receipt to Wiley Subscription Services at the Wiley address given above. SPE members receive the magazine as a benefit of membership. Subscription rate for nonmembers is $233 for 1 year; add $100 per year for subscriptions outside North America. Single-issue price is $20. Plastics Engineering is printed by Dartmouth Printing Co., a Sheridan Group Company. Copyright 2018 by the Society of Plastics Engineers, Inc. Postmaster: Send all address changes to Plastics Engineering, John Wiley & Sons Inc., C/O The Sheridan Press, PO Box 465, Hanover, PA 17331 USA. Reproduction in whole or in part without written permission is prohibited. Plastics Engineering is indexed by Engineering Information Inc.

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Neither Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., nor the Society of Plastics Engineers, nor Plastics Engineering is responsible for opinions or statements of facts expressed by contributors or advertisers, either in the articles published in Plastics Engineering or in the technical papers that are presented at the meetings of the Society. Editorials do not necessarily represent the official policy of Wiley Subscription Services, Inc., or the Society. Display and classified advertisements are included as an educational service to readers of Plastics Engineering. Advertising appearing in Plastics Engineering is not to be taken as an endorsement, expressed or implied, of the respective company’s processes, products, or services represented in the ad.

54 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

4TH-ANNUAL

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ADVERTISERS INDEX

Aaron Equipment Company, www.aaronequipment.com/sniff...............52 Allgrind Plastics, www.allgrind.com......................................................53 Arizona Instruments, www/azic.com/pe..................................................3

Advertising Sales For print and online digital advertising sales in Plastics Engineering magazine, please contact:

Brabender CWB, www.cwbrabender.com.......................................... Insert

Global Sciences Sales Director

BYK, www.byk.com........................................................................ Cover 4

Dan Nicholas

Colour Synthesis Solutions, www.colour-synthesis.com..........................5

Tel: +1 716-587-2181

Emerson, www.emerson.com/branson...................................................23

E: dnicholas@wiley.com

ID Additives, www.iDadditives.com........................................................17 IMS Company, www.imscompany.com/G27................................... Cover 3 J.P. Curilla Associates, email: jpcecl@aol.com........................................52 Japan Steel Works, www.jswamerica.com................................ Cover 2, 53 John Anderson & Associates, www.plasticsjobsearch.com....................52

Sr. Account Manager Print & E-Media Advertising Roland Espinosa Tel: 1+ 201-748-6819 E: respinosa@wiley.com

Plastic Flow, www.plasticflow.com.........................................................52 Polyhedron Laboratories, Inc., www.polyhedronlab.com.......................52 Process Design & Technologies, www.processdesigntech.com.............52 Rheo-Plast Associates, Inc., www.rheoplastusa.com..............................52 Roscom, Inc., www.roscom.net...............................................................53

Product and news releases for Plastics Engineering can be sent directly to: PEreleases@wiley.com

Sam North America, www.sam-na.com..................................................52 Shepherd, www.shepherdcolor.com.......................................................29 SPE ANTEC, www.4spe.org/antec......................................................... 1, 4 SPE ACE, www.4spe.org/ace19...............................................................16 SPE Middle East Plastic Packaging, www.4spe.org/MEPlasticPack.........45 SPE Online Training, www.4spe.org/fundamentals................................49

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SPE Plastic Pipe Conference, www.4spe.org/pipe19..............................33 SPE TPO Shanghai, www.4spe.org/tposhanghai.....................................55 Tangram Technology, www.tangram.co.uk............................................53

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56 | PLASTICS ENGINEERING | MARCH 2019 | www.4spe.org | www.plasticsengineering.org

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Plastics Engineering E-Magazine March 2019 Issue

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Plastics Engineering E-Magazie March 2019 Issue